I Was In A Forced Marriage For 10 Years – Woman

A Mapo Customary Court, on Friday in Ibadan, Oyo State, diss8olved a
10-year-old union between one Omowumi Lamidi and Mukaila Lamidi,
following claims by the wife that she was forced into the marriage.

The President of the court, Ademola Odunade, held that the court dissolved
the union due to exploitation and the threat to life raised by Omowumi.

Odunade also advised Omowumi to avoid confrontation with Mukaila, popularly
known as Auxiliary, for her safety, News Agency of Nigeria reports.

The president awarded the custody of the three-year-old child produced by
the union to Omowumi and ordered Mukaila to pay a monthly feeding
allowance of N5,000 for the child’s upkeep.

Besides, he ordered Mukaila to be responsible for the child’s welfare, including education.

In her petition, Omowumi, a chemist, who resides at Olodo area of Ibadan, said Mukaila had forced her into the marriage.

She said, “My lord, Mukaila used his position as a member of the National
Union of Road Transport Workers in Ibadan to exploit me when he
kidnapped me 10 years ago into a marriage, which I never wanted.

“On that day, Mukaila sent some hooligans to carry me into his home without
my parents’ consent and in fact, he was the one, who deflowered me.

“Since then, he had maintained that I remained the best among all his wives
and concubines. With my experience as a chemist, I refused to get
pregnant for him despite all his forcible sexual intercourse with me.

“However, three years ago, I decided to have a baby for Mukaila because I knew
that I was not getting any younger and there was no means of removing
the shackles.

“I even stood by him when he was sentenced to
prison a few years ago. When Mukaila returned from the prison, he began
to assault me again and threatened to take my life.”

She told the court that her parents were helpless to do anything about the situation and urged the court to separate them.

Although, Mukaila was not in court, the bailiff told the court that he had served
Mukaila the court’s notices on several occasions, which he turned down.