28th October, 2010
A defendant in a divorce suit, Aremu Issa, has told an Ojo Grade ‘A’ Customary Court, Ojo, Lagos that he stabbed his wife, Fatimoh severally because he caught her pants down with another man in their bedroom.
The polygamist was dragged before the court by his wife of 16 years, seeking the dissolution of the union over allegations of maltreatment and threat to life.
He told the court that he never took the rumour about his wife’s love for anything in trousers so seriously until they moved into their personal house.
According to him: “I came back one night and met a naked man in her bedroom. She told me that the man came to help her do something but her excuse was ridiculous and baseless because the man was naked and only had his boxer on. I quickly seized his clothes and he ran out of the house semi naked.
“After the incident, I confronted my wife. I faced her and we had a serious fight. She inflicted several wounds on me and in return, I also stabbed her in different places and I was arrested by the police. I have been trying to be patient and tolerant but she seems to be taking advantage of that as a weakness,†he told the court.
The polygamist said further that “since she has dragged me to the court seeking the dissolution of the union, I can’t force her to live with me. I am equally tired of this absurd union. I want it severed but I want the custody of all my children.â€
Earlier in her evidence, his wife, Fatimoh,  accused her husband of deceiving her into marrying him, by not telling her that he was already married to another woman.
“When I found out, I was angry with him and contemplated quiting the union but my family members kicked against it. Eventually, I had to accept my fate.
“Shortly after I discovered that he was already married to other women before me, he went ahead to marry two other women. At the end of the day, he had four wives in the same house. Yet, he would never take care of our needs or that of our children,†she told the court.
She also narrated her numerous close shave with death at the hands of her husband who she described as cruel.
She told the court further that she realised that if she remarried without severing the relationship with her husband, she would most likely end up dead, hence her decision to pack out of their matrimonial home with three of their kids.
After listening to both parties, the court elders, led by the court president, Alhaji T.A. Said observed that the marriage had broken down irretrievably.
The marriage was dissolved and the couple advised to go to a family court to decide the custody of their kids.
—Jamiu Yisa
