Cleric gets court to grant him a divorce because his junior spouse disrespected his senior wife

ARABIC teacher and cleric Alfa Gasali Gafaru successfully dragged his junior wife before a Idi-Ogungun Customary Court near Ibadan in Oyo State obtaining a divorce because she disrespected his senior wife.

In a unique case, Alfa Gafaru, said that his second wife, Rashidat, was a troublesome woman who has no respect for him and his first wife. He added that he married her four years ago when he had a misunderstanding with his first wife but trouble started when the senior wife returned home after they resolved their dispute.

Alfa Gafaru said: "Rashidat always curses me and my senior wife without recognising me as the head of the family. I therefore urge the court to dissolve my relationship with her and I pledge to pay my dues as regards the upkeep of the two kids of the marriage."

Rashidat, 37, in her defence, urged the court not to grant the petitioner’s request for divorce, saying she was nursing a month-old baby. She accused her husband of conspiring with his senior wife to frustrate her out of her matrimonial home, adding that he that treats her like a slave.

Chief Mukaila Balogun, the court president, dissolved the marriage and ordered a monthly payment of N8,000 by the petitioner to the defendant as upkeep allowance for the two children of the union. He further ordered the plaintiff to pay N5,000 to the defendant as costs to enable her pack her belongings from his house and an additional N12,000 to enable her secure accommodation.