A man, Sarafadeen Busari, has dragged her mother-in-law, Iyabo Odunibaku to Oja Oba/Mapo Court C Customary Court, Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo State, alleging that she kept his three children away from him after his wife’s death six and a half years ago.
He thus prayed the court to grant him custody of these children in order that he might give them adequate care.
“My mother-in-law, since then, has denied me access to my children. She moved out of the house she was living with my late wife and our children to an unknown destination and I was unable to get in touch with her and my children for some years. I later learnt she was residing in Abeokuta, but I found it difficult locating her.
“My lord, before I lost my wife, I ensured I enrolled our children in a good school and was paying their fees as at when due, while I constantly met the children’s other needs.
“Since my mother-in-law left with my children, I didn’t know which school they were attending and how well they were faring, which was a worry to me.
“I eventually discovered where she was living early this year and went to pay her and the children a visit. The children were a pitiable sight while I also realised that she had changed my children’s surname to hers.
“I appeal to this honourable court to please grant me custody of my three children in order to give them the necessary care and attention, “he stated.
“My lord, he destroyed my daughter’s life and left me to mourn her every blessed day. I lost my daughter at the age of twenty seven years,” Iyabo told the court.
“He was dating my daughter and was always coming to sleep with her in my house when I was at work. I didn’t know such a thing was going on until she got pregnant and the cat was let out of the bag.
“No marital rites were carried out by his family members on my daughter. I was the one responsible for her pre-natal and ante-natal attention in the hospital. I also bought the baby things. She moved in with him in his family house so that she could have her baby there but his father sent her out and she was sleeping in a church without a roof for weeks without my knowledge.
“She had the first child and he impregnated her three other times after this. She had three children for him as a whole but died while having the fourth.
“She had the second child in his family house but they sent her back to me after the naming ceremony. When he impregnated her the third time, I told her to move to my church in order that we might save ourselves from shame. She was living there till she put to bed.
“I warned her to put a stop to having babies for Sarafadeen especially since he and his family members never made any attempt at carrying out the marital rites but she turned deaf ears to me.
He impregnated her the fourth time again, still under my roof. She died on my laps in the vehicle which conveyed her to the hospital due to the delay in getting medical attention after developing complications, ”she added.
“None of his family members came to see me until after forty one days after my daughter died. He paid me a condolence visit three months after the incident and I never set my eyes on him again. He didn’t bother to check on his children who are with me.
“He suddenly surfaced at my place after six and a half years, on January 1 of this year and gave his children N4, 000 and at two other times, N5, 000 and N10, 000. The last time he came, he complained he wasn’t happy with the state he found the children and insulted me.
“My lord, it’s true I changed the children’s name to mine because I have been solely responsible for their upkeep and education since their mother died, “she concluded.
Giving his judgment after he had listened to the evidence given by both parties, the court president, Chief Ademola Odunade ordered the defendant to change the names of her grandchildren back to their father’s.
He also ruled that the plaintiff should give the defendant N15, 000 monthly as upkeep for his three children and take up the responsibility of their education and health care.
