Court saves 30-year-old marriage from collapse

An Igando Customary Court in Lagos on Tuesday saved a 30-year-old marriage between Mr Sarafa Hassan and his wife Waliat from collapsing.

The president of the court, Mr Adegboyega Omilola, reconciled the couple, instead of dissolving the union, after the couple went through a series of counseling sessions.

While striking out the case, Omilola admonished the couple to maintain peace always.

“I urge you both to go home and continue in love and peace,’’ he said.

Mr. Sarafa Hassan, 60, a welder, had filed a suit for the dissolution of his 30-year-old marriage, claiming that his wife was always threatening to kill him.


“I received the tip off from a reliable source, warning me not to go home that my wife had set a trap for me to paralyse me, and a few minutes later, my wife called me several times to come home but I refused.

“She always hit me with dangerous weapons; she vowed to terminate my life and because of her threats, I ran away from the house I built and started sleeping in my shop.

“I have severally reported her to her family who always begged me to exercise patience that she will change but she never did,’’ he said.

The petitioner said that when he could no longer bear the situation, he married another woman to love and care for him, but that Waliat was also threatening his new wife.

“She always calls my new wife to tell her that she will become a widow soon,’’ he said.

He accused his wife of infidelity, alleging that she was having an affair with a landlord living on their street.

The husband described his wife as a thief that she was always stealing from him.

However, Mrs Waliat Hassan, a 49-year-old trader, denied all the allegations.

She said that she had never threatened to kill her husband nor has she attacked him with any dangerous weapons.

“How will I attempt to kill the father of my children? I can’t do that because it is my children that will suffer,’’ she said.

The mother of five denied dating the man her husband accused her of having an affair with, saying that she had been faithful to her husband since their marriage.
Waliat also denied threatening to kill the man’s other wife, adding that she only told her husband not to bring the woman to their house.

She begged the court not to grant her husband’s wish for the dissolution of the marriage, insisting that she still loved him.