A 30-year-old housewife, Rosemary Okeke, who met her husband on Facebook, on Wednesday pleaded with an Agege Customary Court in Lagos to dissolve the about 17-month-old marriage to her “jealous” husband.
The woman, who had approached the court seeking the dissolution of the union, said her husband, Cletus, had turned her into a punching bag.
Rosemary told the court that she met her husband through the social media platform — ‘Facebook’ while he was in South Africa and dated for few months before they had their traditional marriage.
She said before her husband paid her dowry, he was so calm but after they got married, he became inquisitive and jealous.
She said,
“My husband does not trust me, always wanting to know who l am talking with on the phone or my whereabouts.
“He keeps telling me that he is an Anambra man who does not take nonsense and that he has paid my dowry, therefore, he has rights over me.”
She also alleged that the respondent (the husband) stopped her from doing business because of jealous nature and yet failed to care for her and their one-year-old child.
Rosemary, who said the man had turned her into a punching bag, described him as a violent man who feels insecure. According to her, she was forced to move out of her matrimonial home when the beating was becoming unbearable.
She said,
“There was a day he beat me following a misunderstanding, l fainted and was rushed to the hospital.
“I want the court to dissolve the marriage and for the respondent to be responsible for the child’s upkeep.”
The respondent, a resident of No. 1 Barachel Estate, Wilinsco, Iju-Ishaga, a Lagos suburb, however, denied the allegations of constantly beating his wife and failing to take care of his family.
Cletus, a businessman who runs a bar, alleged that his wife is hot-tempered, claiming that whenever her phone rang in his presence, she would refuse to pick it.
The President of the court, Mr Phillips Williams, adjourned the case to March 30 for possible reconciliation.