Ekiti Customary Court of Appeal upholds child custody ruling

By Boye Oyeyemi –

The Customary Court of Appeal sitting in Ado-Ekiti has upheld the judgement of the Ise-Ekiti Customary Court in a child custody suit involving Aladesuyi Ajayi and Ifejola Ajayi.

The lower court, presided over by Mrs A. F. Anjorin, with assessors Gbenga Jayeoba and Michael Aregbesola, had on April 29, 2025, awarded custody of the four children of the union to the respondent, Ifejola Ajayi, and ordered the appellant, Aladesuyi Ajayi, to pay N40,000 monthly for their upkeep.

Dissatisfied with the ruling, the appellant approached the Customary Court of Appeal, seeking to set aside the decision of the trial court.

Delivering judgement, the President of the Customary Court of Appeal, Justice Monisola Oluwatoyin Abodunde, ruled in favour of the respondent, saying there was no reason to interfere with the findings of the lower court.

She noted that the appellant was not denied access to the children and described the arrangement as fair, given that the parties had merely cohabited for 18 years.

Justice Abodunde held that it was in the interest of justice for both biological parents to jointly take care of the children, even though they were no longer living under the same roof.

On maintenance, the court ordered that the N40,000 monthly fee be paid to the Chief Registrar of the Customary Court of Appeal, from where the respondent would collect it, to ensure the effective enforcement of the judgement.

The appellate court subsequently dismissed the appeal for lacking merit, with Justices Rotimi Adegboye and Lawrence Ojo concurring and affirming the ruling of the trial court.