Surprisely, a Grade I Area Court, Lugbe, Abuja, on Friday, dissolved a 13-year-old marriage between one Fausiya Abdul-Hameed and her husband, Abdul Hameed, over the latter’s lack of love and maltreatment of his wife.
The Judge, Saleh Ramat, while delivering judgment held that the marriage had broken down irretrievably.
He dissolved the marriage on the grounds that the estranged couple had lost interest in their union and had also consented to dissolving the marriage.
“Both parties have consented to the dissolution of the marriage and the respondent has also asked the court to grant his wife’s prayer for divorce,” the judge held.
He directed the petitioner to file a separate suit in another court for the recovery of her property from her ex-husband’s house, as his court had no jurisdiction over such matter.
Ramat also ordered the petitioner to file a fresh application before his court for the custody of their two children.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Fausiya had earlier in her petition alleged that her husband was maltreating her and had refused to take care of her and their children.
She claimed that as a result of her husband’s behaviour, their first daughter died.
“He doesn’t feed the family. In fact, we usually beg to feed,” she said.
Fausiya further said that her husband used to lock her up in the house and deny her access to people.
She further stated that when neighbours got to know about the maltreatment, they reported the matter to the Chief of Gbessa community for his intervention.
Fausiya said, “He was invited several times by the chief, but he never showed up.
“When I couldn’t take it anymore, I traveled to Lagos to stay with my mother for two years.
“The community decided to rent an apartment for me because my life was in danger.
“My husband no longer has any love for me; I want the court to dissolve this marriage and help me recover all my personal belongings from his house.
“I also want to have custody of the remaining two children,” she added.
The respondent did not deny the allegations made by his wife and neither did he object to her prayer for divorce.
