MICHAEL AKINOLA
The Grade A Customary Court sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State, has dissolved the 30-year old marriage between a cleric, Pastor Olamide Agbejaife and his wife, Mary, for denying him sex after he told the wife that he had a revelation to marry another wife.
Thus, the embattled wife, Mrs. Mary, denied him sex and he moved out of their matrimonial home and filed for divorce.
P.M.EXPRESS reports that the presiding Court President, O.E. Owoseni, ruled that both parties were free to go their separate ways, noting that Pastor Agbejaife had lost interest in the relationship.
The Court therefore, granted his request, citing reasons such as alleged consistent denial of intimacy, food poisoning and Mary’s indifferent behaviour while the marriage lasted.
The Court also ruled that their union did not qualify as a valid customary marriage, as such there was no evidence of a bride price being paid—a necessary requirement under Nigerian Customary Law.
Ms. Owoseni further dismissed Pastor Agbejaife’s plea to restrain Mary from harassing or threatening him, stating that he failed to provide enough proof to support the claim.
During the proceedings, Pastor Agbejaife explained that his relationship with Mary changed in 2017 after he received a spiritual revelation that he would marry another woman.
He said that Mary had since refused to be intimate with him and once tried to poison him.
He recalled an incident on 6th December, 2021, when he suffered severe stomach pain after eating food she had prepared.
He also accused her of abandoning him for over a year following surgery in 2022 and claimed that she falsely told someone he had died.
However, in her defense, Mary, a trader, pleaded with the Court not to dissolve the relationship. She expressed hope of enjoying the life they had built together and the children they shared together.
She countered the Pastor’s claims and told the Court that he was the one who stopped being intimate and had moved out of their matrimonial home while she admitted that they had occasional arguments but she denied any physical violence.
But the explanation was not enough to convince the Court not to dissolve their relationship as the Court ordered the parties to move their separate ways in the interest of peace.