Imported User:
“My husband has been harassing me with dangerous weapons.
“He threatens my customers with juju,” said Mrs Adeshola Bilesanmi, a petty trader seeking the dissolution of her 20-year-old marriage at the Mushin Customary Court, Lagos, on Wednesday.
Bilesanmi said that she was fed up with her marriage to Bashir, whom she described as “grossly irresponsible”
She said that Bashir was not caring for their children’s education and alleged that her mother had been paying the school fees of her children for some years.
“My husband keeps on forcing our first child to repeat classes whenever it is time for him to sit for his Senior Secondary Certificate Examination.
“He wants the boy to go back to JSS 3 instead of paying for him to write WAEC,” she said.
The petitioner said that her husband beat her whenever she brought up the issue of their children’s education.
“He beats me all the time as if I am a child.
“He doesn’t know how to resolve issues maturely even after 20 years in marriage.
“He is always embarrassing me in my shop, cursing and once threatened to kill a man who gave me a ride on his motorcycle,” she said.
Responding to the allegations, Bashir said that the fees of his two children due to write their final secondary school examination were too high.
He said that he had told his wife that he could not afford the fees charged by the private secondary school his children attended.
Bashir said that he had appealed to his wife on several occasions to enrol the children in a public school where the fees were affordable.
“(But) My wife is a very stubborn woman.
“She does not consider my financial status and she insisted that the children will attend a private secondary school.
“The school gave me a bill of N37,500 for each of the two children to write their final secondary school examinations.
“I am a tailor and I can’t afford such a huge amount.
“I can only sponsor a child this year. The younger one should repeat the class. She can sit for the exam next year,'' he said.
Bashir denied threatening to kill anybody.
“I did not threaten to kill the man. I cannot kill anybody. I merely harassed him because I was aware he was dating my wife.
“It was my jealousy that led me into harassing him. I did it because I still love my wife and I thought she belonged to me still,” Bashir said.
He told the court that he could only provide N2,500 weekly for his four children aged 18, 16,13 and nine to feed with.
The Court President, Dr Abayomi Ipaye, advised the petitioner to be more considerate in her dealings with her husband.
“You the petitioner need to understand your husband’s financial status and be more flexible in your demands.
“There is nothing wrong with public school. Take your children there if that is what your husband can afford.
“Your children do not need to attend private schools before they can excel.
“Cut your clothes according to your size,” Ipaye said.
The court president said that it was unwise to pay N37,500 for an examination that cost about N8,500 in public schools.
Ipaye ordered Bashir to increase the feeding allowance of his children as the amount he claimed he could afford was too small.
“You should have the fear of God. You don’t expect four grown-up children to survive on N2,500 feeding allowance weekly.
“I believe you do not want them to go stealing.”
Ipaye told the parties, who reside at No. 26, Olusegun Babatunde St., Ejigbo, Lagos, that their marriage was still redeemable.
The case was adjourned till May 16 for further hearing.
