By OLAWALE AKINREMI

A Mapo Grade A Customary Court sitting in Ibadan has put an end to the 30-year cohabitation between Pastor Olamide Agbejaife and his estranged wife, Mary, over sexual denial.

The court granted Agbejaife, the petitioner?s application for separation on grounds of frequent sexual denial, food poisoning, and a nonchalant attitude of his estranged wife.

Delivering judgment, the court?s President, Mrs O.E. Owoseni, ruled that both parties were free to go their separate ways, as Agbejaife was no longer interested in the relationship.

Owoseni pointed out that the union was not a valid customary marriage in the first place because the petitioner, Agbejaife, had not paid the bride price to the respondent.

Citing various sections of the law, the court held that none of the evidence provided by either party indicated that a dowry had been paid.

?This is a fundamental requirement for a valid customary marriage in Nigeria,? she said.

The court also struck out the prayer seeking to restrain Mary from harassing, threatening, or interfering with Agbejaife?s private life, as Agbejaife did not provide sufficient evidence to support his claim.

Earlier, Agbejaife, a resident of Olodo in Ibadan, testified that his wife?s behaviour took a negative turn after he received a revelation in 2017 that he would marry another wife.

He claimed that since then, Mary had stopped engaging in sexual intimacy with him and had even attempted to poison him.

?On Dec. 6, 2021, I had a serious stomach upset after eating food given to me by Mary,? Agbejaife said.

?She also cursed me on several occasions without reason.

?After our first child was born in 1995, she started leaving our home without permission, often without providing any explanation.

?In fact, when I underwent surgery in 2022, Mary abandoned me for 14 months and only resurfaced later.?

Agbejaife also revealed that Mary had told someone he had died after a poisoning incident.

In her response, Mary, a trader, pleaded with the court not to terminate their 30-year relationship, expressing her desire to enjoy the fruits of her labour and the children they had together.

?Agbejaife was the one who stopped having sexual intimacy with me and even moved out of the house,? Mary told the court in her defence.

?We have never had any physical fights, although we did quarrel occasionally,? she admitted. (NAN)

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