Court dissolves 15-year-old marriage over wife’s infidelity

An Upper Area Court in Gwagwalada, Abuja, has dissolved a 15-year-old marriage between a public servant, Okpanachi Yahaya and his estranged wife, Zainab Adejoh over infidelity.

The Judge, Malam Abdullahi Abdulkareem, dissolved the marriage according to Islamic Law, following Yahaya’s prayer for divorce on grounds of infidelity.

Abdulkareem ordered Adejoh to observe “Iddah” (waiting period) of three months according to Islamic injunction, before contracting another marriage.

He added that the issue of child custody which the petitioner brought before the court should be filed as a separate suit.

Earlier, the petitioner had told the court that he got married to the respondent under Islamic law on Sept.14, 2019 and is blessed with two children, ages 14 and 12.

He said that he noticed that the respondent started having extra marital affairs in 2019.

“I saw Adejoh hiding in the kitchen talking to another man and when I interrogated her, she assaulted me physically and verbally,” Yahaya said.

He said that he had been sick in the last four months, hospitalised and eventually taken to his village in Kogi but the respondent never visited him and continued her illicit relationships.

He said the respondent went to his office while he was away in the village and collected money on his behalf without his consent.

Yahaya said that it was discovered according to his native law and custom that the root of his ailment was the respondent’s illicit relationships with other men.

“Adejoh was invited by my kinsmen for a peaceful resolution regarding our dispute but she declined.

“There is no more love and peace in the marriage, I want the marriage dissolved, ” he said.

The respondent, however, consented to the divorce.