How ‘Holy water’ ruins 10-year-old marriage

A couple is currently seeking the dissolution of their 10-year-old marriage before an Ikeja High Court in Lagos. This is on account of a bottle of ‘holy water’ the wife brought into the house without her husband’s approval.

The aggrieved husband, Olaniyi Oluwaseun Oladepo, is asking Justice Christopher Balogun to dissolve his marriage with his wife, Adeyinka, claiming that he was provoked to violence over the strange prayer-water, which the wife brought into her matrimonial home without his knowledge.

Oladepo has since left his matrimonial home, maintaining that his life is under threat and as he was being provoked, he would not want to do something he might later regret.

The petitioner, Oladepo, in his explanation on why he wanted the court to dissolve the marriage, narrated to Justice Balogun that he left his home because he was incited to aggression. He accused his wife of being fetish.

He said: “I feel threatened. I was being provoked to violence, but I left the house. I saw a liquid content in the house.”

Responding to the allegation, Mrs. Oladepo said they got married in October 15, 2011. “We have two children who are five and seven years old.”

She explained that her husband told her in 2015 that they were no longer compatible. “My mother brought holy water she collected at a Catholic Church programme. And I only collected the water; I have not used it for anything. I travelled from work and upon returning home, I discovered that my husband had absconded. He left our matrimonial home.”

The judge adjourned further hearing of the matter.

In another development, a Protocol Officer of a company, Mrs. Adeyinka Olasunbo Raheem, has told a court that her eight-year-old marriage has broken down irretrievably. She asked the court to dissolve the marriage over allegation that her husband is a womaniser.

In her testimony before the court, she said they got married at the Ikeja Marriage Registry on September 20, 2013, and that they lived at No 12, Sunday Agbedo Street, Park View Estate, Ikoyi, where both cohabitated for over two years. She, however, explained that the problem started, when her husband started bringing another woman to their matrimonial home.

She said: “My relationship with my husband was not cordial at all. I had given birth to a baby boy and that was what bonded our relationship. He used to bring different women to our matrimonial home. Whenever I complained, he would place himself on permanent night shift in his work place.

“In 2016, he called me that he did not want to waste my time. So, I left our matrimonial home on August 7, 2018 and enrolled my son in a popular school in Surulere. I want the court to dissolve the marriage and give me custody of the boy, but he (husband) should be responsible for the child’s maintenance and welfare.”

She confirmed under cross-examination that the relationship was not cordial before the court adjourned further hearing till November 6, 2021.

(The Guardian)