Date: 2017-03-16

An Omu-Aran Area Court in Kwara State yesterday dis­solved a 15-year-old mar­riage between a 45-year-old carpenter, Akeem Abiodun and his wife, Omolara, for maltreatment and batter­ing.

The presiding judge, Mr Adebola Banigbe, chided Akeem for his unruly be­haviour toward his wife, saying that his low financial status should not be an ex­cuse for such actions.

Banigbe said that since the two parties had collec­tively agreed on the disso­lution of the marriage, "The marriage between Akeem Abiodun and Omolara Abiodun, therefore, ceases to exist and the custody of the children awarded to the petitioner."

Omolara had on Febru­ary 27, begged the court to dissolve her 15-year-old marriage to Akeem, and award her the custody of their five children, aged between one and 14 years. She had told the court that she had been subjected to untold hardship.