A housewife, Rukayat Akibu, has, approached the Area Court, Centre-Igboro, Ilorin, seeking divorce over her husband’s alleged neglect.
The petitioner told the court that she had been married to her husband, Hakeem, for six years and blessed with two children, but that she had spent most of the years in her mother’s house.
This, she said, was due to her husband’s perpetual absence from home.
“My mother-in-law approached my mother, asking for my hand in marriage for her son immediately I finished from secondary school.
“My mother and I objected to the marriage because I had plans to continue with my education but my mother-in-law promised that I would continue my education in my husband’s house.
“After marriage, I got pregnant twice and my mother-in-law said that she did not know how to take care of a nursing mother; so I had to move to my parent’s house,” she said.
Rukayat further stated that her husband refused to allow her to continue her education and had always been away on official duty as a military officer.
“My husband had stopped picking my calls since August 2023 without any reason and all efforts to reach him have not yielded any result.
“My mother-in-law also refused to mediate in the matter, claiming that her son had warned her against interfering in his family affair.

“Although my husband sends N50,000 monthly for our upkeep through his sister, he has refused to call me and when I call him, he doesn’t answer,” she said.
The Presiding Judge, Hammad Ajumonbi, told the petitioner to exercise more patience and consider the children before concluding on divorce.
Ajumonbi ordered that the respondent be briefed on the case and that he must appear in court during the next sitting to state his own case.
He, however, said that if the respondent refused to honour the invitation, the court would not hesitate to rule on the petitioner’s application.
Ajumonbi, thereafter, adjourned the case till June 24 for the respondent’s reaction. (NAN)