A middle age man , Samson Musa ,on Wednesday appealed to an ojo Customary Court sitting in Lagos to end his three year old marriage to his wife because she is pregnant for another man.
The complainant who is married to his wife identified as Tunrayo for three years is accusing her of infidelity.
Musa who claimed his wife's six months pregnancy was not his, 'i can't live with a woman who is promiscuous ,sleeping around ,troublesome and does not have any regard for me, he said. He prayed that the court grant him custody of their two years old son.
Tunrayo while responding to the allegation by her husband, appealed to the court not consider Musa's claim , stressing that he abandoned the family and was not providing well for her and their son. She said 'my husband does not take care of me and thats why i find myself roaming the street because of no accommodation.
I was even rapped twice in a container while hawking water sachet popularly known as 'pure water' . Yes , i cannot say who owns this pregnancy , but as for my son , i will not release him, After all Musa did not pay any bride price on me................. .SOURCE DAILY POST
The first step to be taken is to determine the paternity of the Child by directing the parties to conduct a DNA test.After this has been done if the man is the biological father then he will be left with no other option than take full responsibility on the child and the court will do all within its power to reconcile them.
Secondly, if otherwise then one way or the other the woman has committed an adultery which is a major ground for dissolution of marriage both under Act and under the customary law.
Lastly , on the issue of custody ,there’s a presumption that the child’s custody matters in Nigeria will be decided in
The complainant who is married to his wife identified as Tunrayo for three years is accusing her of infidelity.
Musa who claimed his wife's six months pregnancy was not his, 'i can't live with a woman who is promiscuous ,sleeping around ,troublesome and does not have any regard for me, he said. He prayed that the court grant him custody of their two years old son.
Tunrayo while responding to the allegation by her husband, appealed to the court not consider Musa's claim , stressing that he abandoned the family and was not providing well for her and their son. She said 'my husband does not take care of me and thats why i find myself roaming the street because of no accommodation.
I was even rapped twice in a container while hawking water sachet popularly known as 'pure water' . Yes , i cannot say who owns this pregnancy , but as for my son , i will not release him, After all Musa did not pay any bride price on me................. .SOURCE DAILY POST
The first step to be taken is to determine the paternity of the Child by directing the parties to conduct a DNA test.After this has been done if the man is the biological father then he will be left with no other option than take full responsibility on the child and the court will do all within its power to reconcile them.
Secondly, if otherwise then one way or the other the woman has committed an adultery which is a major ground for dissolution of marriage both under Act and under the customary law.
Lastly , on the issue of custody ,there’s a presumption that the child’s custody matters in Nigeria will be decided in
favor of the father, for a marriage that is statutory and comes under the jurisdiction of matrimonial causes act made it clear that the custody of the child will be decided based on the child’s best interest as provided in section 71 of the matrimonial causes act, but this does not mean that the mother of the child cannot stricto senso have the child’s custody, only that the mother must prove beyond reasonable doubt that she can maintain the child without regard to court powers to grant maintenance orders i.e. personal residence, job, income before they are given custody.
If it is in the best interest of the family that the spouse separate or divorce such as in cases involving domestic violence, the spouse granted custody should receive maintenance and support from other, but both parents should be financially responsible for their offspring.
Also fathers that are seeking for custody of the child must prove that they can personally provide attention, care and nurture in addition to financial needs before they can be granted custody. Where the father can prove all the above but it is seen that he’s a violent drug addict or lives irresponsibly, the court shall deny such father custody, this is also applicable to a mother with such characteristics.
Generally, custody of very young children is awarded to the mother, there’s also a preference that the custody of a female child is mostly granted to the mother and that of the male is granted to the father but have it in mind that the best interest of the child is what determines who custody will be awarded to.
Another determining factor in granting custody of a child is the evidence of moral depravity against the offending party but in reaching such conclusion, the court needs to be careful so that the judge is not seen as jumping into the arena of the case. The court has been warned that custody should not be used punitively against an erring party on whose behavior led to the grounds of divorce, if at all the erring party will be denied, the petitioner must prove that the child’s physical, mental welfare is at risk from the party’s behavior.
Thank you.
Oyenike Alliyu-Adebiyi LLB (hons) BL
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