On Monday, a retired military officer, Thomas Olawaye, asked the Mapo Grade ‘A’ Customary Court in Ibadan to grant his request for “divorce” to his wife of 52 years, Victoria, on the grounds that she was ill-tempered.

Mr Olawaye, the father of five, told the court that despite several interventions by relatives to ”calm” his wife, she refused to change her bad ways.

He said, ”My lord, for you to know how terrible Victoria had been, I stopped performing my duties as a husband 22 years before she eventually left my home in 2021.

”She grabs my private parts whenever we have an argument. Victoria doesn’t mind her business in the neighbourhood we lived in. She has no good words for me. She curses and has even destroyed our children’s lives with curses.”

He accused his estranged partner of attempting to stab him with a knife in 2023. The petitioner tendered the knife as an exhibit before the court.

The respondent was, however, absent in court.

The bailiff had informed the court that he served hearing notices on the respondent several times.

Delivering judgment, the court’s president, S.M. Akintayo, held that there was no marriage to be dissolved between the couple in the first place.

Ms Akintayo said this was because the petitioner did not pay the bride price or perform the essential traditional rites.

”The fact that a man and a woman are living together and even bearing children together does not mean that they are married. Their togetherness is a mere cohabitation,” she said.

She added that the respondent’s failure to appear in court to controvert the evidence tendered against her necessitated the admission of the evidence.

She also granted the order restraining Ms Victoria from threatening, harassing, disturbing and interfering in the private life of Mr Olawaye.

(NAN)