Couples Disagree Over Custody Of Only Child

A 42-year-old fashion designer on Tuesday pleaded with a Grade‘ A’ Customary Court, Agege, Lagos, to dissolve her union with her spouse with whom she had co-habited for eight years.

The petitioner, Olabisi Onile, who lives at 5, Murphy Akins St., Oke-Odo, Lagos, asked the court to dissolve the union on the grounds that the spouse did not care for her and was threatening her life.

She also wants the court to grant her the custody of the only child of the union, saying that she was in a wrong relationship with her spouse, Kamardeen Salaam, and did not love him anymore.

“I got to know him through a friend and we started a relationship which led to pregnancy.

“Being a traditional doctor, he gave me a native drug to abort which I took and the pregnancy went down.

“He did not take me to his people and I forced him before he could allow me to know his brother,’’ she said.

Onile said she got pregnant again but did not know until the pregnancy was four months.

“When I told him, he told me that he would abort it for me.

“I was afraid and ran to my home town in Ekiti and I did not leave there until I delivered that baby. I called him and he told me to come with the child to Lagos which I did.

“All through the time we lived together, he refused to give me and the child money for feeding. He did not care how we fed and I single-handedly took care of my baby, ‘’ she said.

Onile also told the court that when the only child, Oluwapelumi, was  five years old, Salaam  threw her out of the house and took her child to his brother’s house in Ibadan.

“For two years, I was not allowed to see my child, he denied me access to  Oluwapelumi, yet he is threatening to hurt me.

“I want the court to dissolve anything we might have had together and grant me the custody of my child,’’ she said.

However, Salaam, 46, who lives at 174, Iju, Road, Lagos, denied all the allegations levelled against him.

“I have been a caring father and a good man; Olabisi is adulterous and does not come home until late in the night.

“She has not been faithful to me and one of her hobbies is lying so there is no way you can know when she is telling the truth.

“She does not respect me and so I support the divorce but I pray the court to grant me the custody of my child,’’ he said.

The Court President, Mr. Emmanuel Sokunle, told them to maintain the peace and ordered Salaam to bring the child to court at the adjourned date.

He adjourned the case to July 23 for judgment.