By OLAWALE AKINREMI

A Mapo Grade A Customary Court in Ibadan has dissolved a marriage of 10 years on grounds of the alleged overbearing influence of the husband’s mother on the union.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the petitiner, Mrs Abibat Oladimeji had approached the court seeking the dissolution of her marriage to her estranged husband, Mr Nurudeen Oladimeji.

Delivering judgment on the matter, the President of the court, Mrs S.M. Akintayo held that the marriage had broken down irretrievably because the petitioner’s love for her husband had died.

Akintayo said that the fact that the petitioner had moved out of the respondent’s home due to the discomfort she had suffered worsened the matter.

“The court cannot force the petitioner to change her decision; so, the marriage between the petitioner and the respondent has ceased to be henceforth,” the court’s president said.

She granted an order restraining Nurudeen from harassing, threatening and interfering with the private life of Abibat

Also, the court awarded custody of the two children in the union, being five and 10 years respectively, to the petitioner.

Earlier, Abibat, a trader, stated that she made up her mind to call it quits with her husband because life was no longer the same staying under the same roof with Nurudeen.

She further alleged that Nurudeen’s mother kept influencing him in taking decisions with negative consequences on her and the children.

“My lord, despite being the second wife, I was the one that provided the money which Nurudeen used in building the house, but he no longer show me the initial love and care.

“When I reported his misbehaviour to his mother, nothing positive came out of it.

“After I moved out of the house, I expected Nurudeen to come to my parents for settlement, but he bluntly refused a peace deal,” she said.

In his own testimony, Nurudeen contended that his wife was unruly and consistently disobeyed him.

“Abibat has refused to obey any of my instructions.

“However, I don’t wish to part ways with her, help me to pacify her to remain with me,” Nurudeen prayed the court. (NAN)