Ibadan customary court annuls marriage because wife is a Christian and husband is a Muslim

IBADAN truck driver Azeez Muritala has successfully divorced his wife Ramota over religious differences after the Mapo Customary Court agreed to dissolve their 31-year union following her conversion to Christianity.

 

In a petition, Mr Muritala said that he wanted the court to put an end to the union with his wife on the ground that she was not ready to practice Islamic religion with him. After hearing both sides, the court president Chief Ademola Odunade, held that he dissolved the marriage because the duo had refused to be pacified.

 

Mr Muritala said: “My lord, I have decided to call it quits with Ramota because I have exhausted my patience with her for too long. I got married to Ramota in 1988 so that she could practice the same faith with me but right now, I no longer know anything about her movement as she now became stone-hearted.

 

“Without my knowledge or approval, Ramota started going to church and bringing home certain kind of water. In fact, to my disgust, Ramota brings into my matrimonial home different colours of candle under the disguise of praying with them and she had stopped practising Islam.

 

“Worst still, Ramota has succeeded in turning our four children against me by poisoning their mind that I am bad. Most of the times, she doesn’t stay at home for three days and has recently moved away for long, she has even absconded with the first three children without giving me any clue of their whereabouts."

 

He added that just few days ago, she stubbornly came to take away the last child that has been keeping him happy. According to Azeez, when he could no longer bear the humiliation, he reported the mater to Ramota's  parents and relatives but they pleaded with him that she would change.

 

Ramota, a food vendor in the Gingede area of Ibadan, who consented to the suit, did not deny any of the allegations levelled against her. She, however, maintained that she had seen the practical manifestation of prayer in her life.

 

“It is true that I now go to church and my husband approved of it. When Azeez later told me to stop going to church, I disagreed with him because I needed prayers.

 

“I did not abscond with any of the children, they wilfully followed me. I want to urge this honourable court not to award Azeez custody of the children because he is too busy, they will suffer,” Ramota said.

 

In his ruling, Chief Odunade awarded custody of the four children produced by the union, whose ages ranged between 11 and 30, to Azeez because they were grown-ups.

Share