Man Tells Court: My Wife Changed Behavior After I Married Another Wife

Man Tells Court: My Wife Changed Behavior After I Married Another Wife....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Folahanmi Ojo, a father of four, testified on Tuesday before a Grade A Customary Court in Mapo, Ibadan, asserting that his wife’s behavior deteriorated significantly after he married a second wife……. CONTINUE READING

Ojo, a surveyor, presented his defense against his wife’s accusation of frequent physical abuse, admitting that he had tried to encourage positive change in her.

“Ever since I married another wife, Bola has been behaving badly,” Ojo stated. “It’s important to note that she was already married to another man when I married her. My parents disapproved of our union, and I took her from another man, which is why I did not complete the traditional bride price and other marital rites.”

He continued, “When she fell seriously ill, I took care of her and she recovered.”

In her earlier testimony, Bola, a hairdresser, expressed her intention to seek a divorce citing domestic violence, lack of care, and a lack of peace in their home. She also accused Ojo of locking her out of their matrimonial home and mentioned that she had given birth to all four children at home, not in a hospital.

In delivering judgment, Mrs. S.M. Akintayo, the court’s president, ruled that there was no valid marriage to dissolve between Ojo and Bola because the essential requirement of paying the bride price, critical in customary marriages, was not fulfilled.

Referring to legal principles, Akintayo emphasized that the absence of dowry payment and other marriage ceremonies as testified by both parties meant that no valid customary marriage existed. She clarified that merely living together and having children did not constitute a legally recognized marriage.

However, Akintayo granted an order restraining Ojo from harassing, threatening, disturbing, or interfering in Bola’s private life moving forward.