Court dissolves 13-year-old marriage

A Customary Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, on Monday dissolved a 13 year-old marriage between Mr. Lamidi Oladimeji and his estranged wife, Toyin.
The marriage was dissolved on the ground of threat to life, lack of love and care, and persistent fighting by the spouses.
Toyin, 34, told the court that she wanted a divorce because her husband usually maltreated her, saying she was "not ready for an amicable settlement."
The mother of three said, "We were not formally married. I was impregnated when I was in secondary school. My husband is hot-tempered."
The estranged husband, who said his wife used to offer him financial help, pleaded that the marriage should not be dissolved.
The court president, Joseph Ogunsemi, in his judgment dissolved the marriage and ruled that the woman should take custody of the three children.
Ogunsemi ruled that the estranged husband should pay the sum of N3,000 monthly allowance for the upkeep of each of the threechildren, starting from August.
He also said that the man should be responsible for the education of the children adding that he should be allowed free access to the children.