He’s fond of beating my mother, wife tells court

A petty trader, Mrs. Happiness Ama, has asked an Igando Customary Court, Lagos, to dissolve her marriage, saying she could no longer tolerate the alleged constant beating of her mother by her husband, Jerry Ama.
The 41-year-old housewife told the court that her husband, with whom she had three children in their 21-yearold marriage, had turned her mother into a punching bag that he hits at the slightest provocation.
“My husband beats my mother regularly; the police have warned him to stop the assault but he would not listen,” she said. She also alleged that her husband had threatened to take her life if she left him.
“My husband always threatens me; there was a day he brought out a cutlass telling me that he would cut off my head if I left him.
“He also threatened to pour acid on me so that no man would be attracted to me. Due to his threat, I can no longer sleep with my two eyes closed.
“Our home has no peace since l got married because he is quarrelsome, troublesome and violent,” she said. The petitioner said that their marriage had been ridden with in- fighting and constant quarrels.
“I am tired of the beating he gives to me and my mother. I have scars all over my body as a proof of his domestic abuse; I am scared. I don’t want to die,” she said.
The housewife urged the court to terminate the marriage, saying that she was no longer interested.
“Since the inception of our marriage, my husband never paid house rent or his children’s school fees.
“Save me from the cruel hands of my husband; I have suffered so much in silence,” she said. Jerry, 60, did not appear in court to state his own side of the story.
The Court’s President, Mr. Adegboyega Omilola, directed the court registrar to serve the respondent summons for him to appear before the court so that he could state his own side of the story.