An elderly man, Gabriel Shonekan, has dragged his estranged wife, Nosimotu Shonekan, before a Customary Court sitting in Ake, Abeokuta, Ogun State, over the paternity of their child.
She declared that he was not the biological father of his wife’s child.
Shonekan in a suit numbered: C/276/2018, told the court that he was surprised when his wife told him that she was pregnant and was delivered of the baby within the seven months of their marriage.
Shonekan said that he was suspicious that his wife was having extra marital affairs with other men, resulting in her having pregnancy and delivering a child within the seven months of
marriage.
The husband, who said that there was no marriage between him and his wife, said that he did not know any family member of his wife within the seven months that she lived under his
roof.
While denying the paternity the baby, Shonekan said that immediately his wife told him that she was pregnant, he gave her money to go and abort it, because he knew he was not responsible for the pregnancy. But his wife refused and later gave birth to the baby.
The husband said that his wife was so troublesome that she was always abusing and raining curses on him. He also said she had formed the habit of fighting him with dangerous weapons and in the process would tear his clothes..
Gabriel is, therefore, seeking to divorce his wife on the grounds of frequent fighting, using dangerous weapons to fight him, threat to life, no child, no rest of mind and fomenting trouble.
He said” She is a liar. I am not the father of her new born baby. We only met seven months ago, when she told me about the pregnancy I told her to go and abort it because I know I am not the father.
“I did not do any marriage with her; we just met and she pack into house and I don’t know any of her family. She is very troublesome, she once lock me with my cloth that I found it difficult to breath and she had even torn many of my cloths.
“I want free dissolution of our marriage on the ground of frequent fighting, fomenting trouble threat to life, using dangerous weapons to fight me, no issue, and no rest of mind.”
Shonekan, therefore, prayed the court to asked his wife to come and pack all her belongings in his house and to further stop coming into his house or place of work to foment trouble.
In her defence, Nosimotu, who said that the union between her and her husband was over one year, told the court that her husband approached her because he wanted a
child.
According to her, Gabriel wanted a child badly because he told her that she wanted her to give birth to one of his children he lost some years ago. But she was surprised at his sudden change, when she had the pregnancy and wanted her to abort the baby.
Nosimotu, however, told the court to grant the prayers of her husband and dissolve their marriage, noting that she would take care of the baby herself.
The President of the court, Mrs. O. O. Sam-Obaleye, therefore, transferred the case to the Family Court and ordered that a DNA test should be done to confirm if Gabriel was the rightful father of the baby.