Court dissolves 8-year-old marriage over first child's paternity

An Ikorodu Customary Court in Lagos on Thursday dissolved an eight-year-old marriage between an accountant, Onome Agbudge, and his wife, Grace, over children’s paternity.

In his judgment, the Court President, Mr Olu Adebiyi, said since efforts to reconcile the couple proved abortive, he had no option than to dissolve the union.

He held that the "Continuous deliberate absence of the petitioner from court would be the reason this judgment would hold today. The relationship which was sustained for eight years shows unfaithfulness and falsehood acts.

"Upon refusal to bring the DNA result by the petitioner to court, this court will base its judgment on the fact that they have been living apart for three years.

"In the light of the evidence and the proceedings, this honourable court has no further reason to delay the pronouncement of judgment in this case.

"Free divorce is hereby granted to the parties as demanded. The petitioner will continue to take care of the children pending the outcome of the family court. Feeding allowance of N10, 000 should be given to the children monthly.

"Any aggrieved party who is not satisfied with this judgment is free to appeal within 30 days at a higher court,’’ he held.

Agbudge,37, who resides at Newsite, Igbogbo, Bayeku in Ikorodu, had in October 2014 asked the court to dissolve his marriage due to her wife promiscuity.

He told the court that Grace deserted him for three years and he also denied paternity of their first child.

The accountant also accused his wife of chatting with different types of men on social media.

He said further that the result of DNA test conducted on one of the children triggered his divorce decision.

"I got to know that the second son was my only child when I took the first and second child for treatment. The genotype of the first child is AS, while I and his mother’s genotype were AA.

"I further took them for a DNA test and the result shows that I was not the one that fathered the first child. Please, separate us, I can no longer train `bastard child,’’ he said.

However, Grace, 32, a trader, did not deny the allegations leveled against her.She, however, begged her husband to provide shelter, welfare and sound education for the child he claimed to be his own.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the petitioner had absented himself severally from the court.