A dramatic episode unfolded in the Customary Court in Bwari, Abuja, as Nigerian Pastor E. Arizechi applied for the annulment of his marriage to Mrs. Blessing A. Arizechi.
The pastor’s claims and the subsequent court proceedings revealed a perplexing narrative of marital strife and unusual demands.
Pastor Arizechi accused his wife of not only denying him conjugal rights but also subjecting him to physical abuse.
He alleged that his wife and her daughter, born out of wedlock, had joined forces to assault him, and further claimed that she showed him no respect.
According to the pastor, he had taken the matter to their family members, his church, and district leaders, but his wife remained unyielding.
He stated, “The Respondent has denied me my conjugal right as her husband, and since our marriage, I’ve had intercourse with her only a few times due to her unwillingness.”
Adding insult to injury, Pastor Arizechi claimed that after providing money for food, his wife failed to cook for him.
In an unexpected twist, the pastor prayed the court for an “order of this Hon. Court ordering that the customary marriage is void.”
He also requested that his wife refund the N50,000 bride price he had paid and vacate his house when the marriage is declared void.
However, during the court proceedings, Pastor Arizechi informed the three-man panel, led by Honorable Uchenna Cyprian Okwuonye, that his church had intervened, and he wished to settle the matter out of court.
Following this revelation, his lawyer applied to withdraw the divorce case, leading the court to strike it out.
