A man drags his estranged wife to court for changing the surname of their children to that of her new lover.
A middle-aged father, Theophilus Ayodeji Obayan, has taken his estranged wife to a Grade ‘A’ Customary Court in Oke-Eda Akure, Ondo State, for changing the surname of their children to that of her new lover.
On Thursday, August 10, 2023, Obayan filed a petition in court demanding the divorce of his 23-year marriage to Chibuzor Lillian Obayan and custody of their four children.
“My lord, my marriage has always been marked by crises, abuse, disobedience, misunderstanding, lies, manipulation, hate, and rage,” he explained.
“In the year 2000, I married Lilian, and we have four children.” My wife is an Igbo, and I am a Yoruba. I’ve been through a lot at the hands of her family because they don’t love me, but I’ve persevered.
“Lilian packed her belongings and moved out of my house to another man’s house in 2019 and went to change her name, including my children’s surname, to the name of the Igbo man she’s engaged to.”
The petitioner told the court that his estranged wife has refused to let him see his children since she moved out of his residence.
As a result, he petitioned the court to dissolve the marriage and give him custody of the four children, as well as to order her to change their names back to his.
Lilian, who argued against the petitioner’s claims, said her husband was terribly reckless.
“My lord, it has not been an easy life for me over the years we have been together.” In reality, Obayan took pleasure in assaulting and thrashing me to the point of body fractures,” the respondent informed the court.
“Obayan is not a good husband to me or a good father to his children because he does not pay their school fees and does not care how they live.”
“He failed to pay my dowry.” So I finally found a husband. And my new love wants to give my children his name rather than their irresponsible father’s.
“Our children are no longer children, and they are old enough to make their own decisions.” My first two daughters, Mayomi and Damilola, are 22 and 20 years old, respectively, while the boys, Ariyo and Aduragbemi, are 18 and 16 years old.”
Lilian also stated that she was in court with witnesses to determine whether or not she and the petitioner had a traditional marriage.
As a result, she petitioned the court to break the union, claiming that she was done with Obayan since he had not paid her dowry.
Magistrate Olusegun Rotiba, President of the Court, asked the parties in his judgement to enable peace to rule amongst them.
He postponed the case to September 28, 2023, for the continuation and adoption of oral arguments or, more likely, judgment.
