My husband is a baby kidnapper, separate us now, wife begs court

A middle age housewife, Oluwayemisi, on Friday asked a Mapo Customary Court, Ibadan, to dissolve the one-year-old marriage between her and her husband, Akintunde Ogundepo, for allegedly kidnapping her baby.

Narrating her ordeal, Oluwayemisi told the court that Ogundepo was a terrible husband. She alleged that in addition to taking their seven-month-old baby to unknown destination, he often exposed her to torturous treatment like ceaseless beating.

"On that fateful day that I briefly left the baby, before I returned, Ogundepo took the baby to an unknown destination. It was not until the following day when I reported the matter at a nearby police station that he was compelled to bring the child.

"He is used to doing this anytime he wants to punish me, thus exposing the baby to needless pains. Whether I argue with him on any given matter or not, he gives me deadly beating. Just a few days ago, Ogundepo gave me a deafening slap, such that I could no longer hear sound around me for some time,’’ she told the court.

Oluwayemisi said she even defied advice from her mother-in-law, not to marry her son due to his temperament."She warned me before embarking on the journey, saying that her son was a terror to live with. Every now and then, Ogundepo derives pleasure in turning me into a punch bag which has given us a very negative identity in the neighborhood.

"The marriage is still less than a year old, I have tried all I could to manage living with him, but he is a monster,” Oluwayemisi explained. In his response, Ogundepo who is unemployed prayed the court not to dissolve the marriage because he still loved his wife.

"I beat her only once and it was due to her frequent disobedience of my simple order not to stay out late in the night,” Ogundepo said. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the duo lived at Olunloyo area of Ibadan.

President of the court Ademola Odunade, however said there might still be some other amicable ways to resolve the matter. Odunade adjourned the case till Aug. 13, for judgment.