‘My Husband Can Exchange Our Children For Indian Hemp' - Woman Tells Court

Memunat Ramoni has  appealed to Oja Oba/Mapo Court C Customary Court, Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo State to please separate her and  her husband, Oseni Ramoni who she got married to 21 years ago. Memunat in her divorce suit alleged that her husband was an alcoholic, nonchalant about her welfare and that of their children and always threatening to cut her into pieces with a sword.

She, therefore, prayed the court to terminate their relationship and grant her custody of their four children in order to give them proper care.

“My lord, I’m fed up with my marriage because my husband’s behaviour is not better than that of an animal.


“All I have been experiencing since we got married 21 years ago is sorrow and frustration because of his careless lifestyle.

“He’s at his best when he drinks alcohol and smokes Indian hemp. When he’s through with these, he will turn the house upside down. He will beat me and starve me and our children.“He has been out of job for long and has stopped giving us feeding allowance. Even when he was working,   he never saw it as his responsibility to feed the home.

“He beats me every day because of food.  He always demanded that I serve him the largest share of every meal I prepare with my hard earned money not caring if our children ate or not. Any time I tell him our children are my priority, he descends on me with punches, “she stated.

“My lord, he’s in the habit of polluting our room and compound with the smoke of India hemp. He smokes and drinks in the presence of our children. He will blow the smoke of Indian hemp into the air and gush down a cupful of alcohol. He can drink a keg  of alcohol and hundred wraps of Indian hemp in a day and when he’s high, there’s no limit to damage he can cause in the house.

“I have done all I can to make him responsible for our children’s education but all has failed. Our children go to school bare footed and in tattered uniforms and he feels good about it. I pay for everything as demanded by their school authorities and buy their books but he has never appreciated my efforts, ”she added.

“I’m tired of paying the house rent. Our rent is N6, 000 per annum. He will ask me to pay with the promise of making me a refund. But he hardly does this. If he makes a refund at all, it will not be more than N2, 000 and this after I have complained and stood on his neck.

“My lord, the most frightening thing is that he threatens me with sword.  (She unwrapped a sword and presented it before the court as evidence.) Any time we have an argument or fight, he will draw the sword and threaten to cut me into pieces with it. I’m scared he might make real his threat one day.

“My lord, I don’t want to die and leave our children behind to suffer in his hands. I also pray the court to grant me their custody. My husband doesn’t have time for them. If he’s granted their custody, he can exchange them for a keg of alcohol, “she concluded.

The defendant did not come to court despite being served a court hearing twice.

After listening to the plaintiff, the court president, Chief Ademole Odunade stated that it was expedient that their marriage be dissolved since it involved violence. He added that the defendant’s attitude of shunning the court summon and hearing twice showed he was no more interested in their marriage.

Giving his judgment, Odunade dissolved their union and gave custody of their four children to the plaintiff.

The defendant was mandated to pay the sum of N3, 000 to the plaintiff to pack her belongings out of his house. He’s also to pay N12, 000 as one-year house rent to the plaintiff for her new apartment after she had packed out of his house. The court in addition to these ordered that he pays N10, 000 monthly as their children’s feeding allowance. All these payment according to the court president must be done through the court.