Ondo woman seeks end to 20-year marriage over alleged abuse, abandonment

By Boye Oyeyemi

A middle-aged woman, Oluwadamilola Olatunji, has asked an Akure Customary Court to dissolve her 20-year marriage to her husband, Modumu Olatunji, over alleging prolonged abandonment, physical and verbal abuse, and irreconcilable differences.

The petitioner, through her counsel, Adekunle Ogbaro and Akintoye Olatunji, told the court that the marriage, contracted under native law and custom, had produced four children but had broken down beyond reconciliation.

While giving evidence before the court, the civil servant alleged that her husband abandoned the family in 2010 after subjecting her to years of physical and emotional abuse, adding that they had lived separately ever since.

She told the court, “I have been solely responsible for the upbringing of our four children without any financial assistance from the respondent. The burden has been overwhelming, and I have had to obtain loans to cater for their education and welfare.”

The petitioner disclosed that her husband had previously instituted divorce proceedings in June 2022 but later withdrew the case after the court advised both parties to pursue reconciliation.

She, however, said every effort to resolve their differences failed, insisting that the marriage had irretrievably collapsed.

The court adjourned the matter to a later date for the respondent to present his defence and for further hearing of the suit.