Court dissolves coach Onigbinde’s marriage

A customary court in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Wednesday, granted the divorce prayer of a former SuperEagles coach, Chief Adegboye Onigbinde, in a suit filed against one of his wives, Abiona.The couple were married for 30 years.

At the hearing of the suit at the Oja’ba/Mapo Grade C Customary Court in Ibadan South East Local Government Area of Oyo State, Chief Onigbinde and his estranged wife presented their testimonies before the court president, Chief Ademola Odunade.

The case had come up for hearing earlier in the month but was adjourned to give room for a possible out-of-court settlement.In his testimony, Onigbinde argued that his wife was a violent woman who orchestrated discord in his home and abandoned him for two years.

“My wives and I were living a communal life. My wives and their children shared the same pots and did things in common. But immediately she came into my house, there was disunity. She introduced the practice of doing things separately. There was no more unity.  Each of the women began to keep a separate pot,” he said. “She once gripped my shirt and shoved me to the ground when we had a disagreement. It was those at home that quickly came to my rescue. “She also lacks business acumen. Thrice I established businesses for her, but the businesses collapsed because she could not manage them.“She abandoned me and went to babysit for a child she had

for another man. Her daughter, Temilola, the only child produced by our union, is also toeing her path. She insulted me upon learning that I had brought a divorce suitagainst her mother.” “My Lord, I’m 79 years old and I want to live the remaining days of my life in peace. Please, separate us,” Onigbinde stated. Abiona denied all the allegations levelled against her by her husband and said she did not accede to a divorce. According to her, their relationship started having crises

10 years ago when her husband decided to marry her hairdresser who was then a wife to someone in their neighbourhood. “My co-wives and I counselled him against this move but he

turned deaf ears. My husband and I have been experiencing a strain in our relationship since this woman moved into his house.“My Lord, I have no place to go if my husband divorces me.

I pray the court to order him to get me an accommodation if he eventually has his way,” the defendant stated. After listening to both parties, the court president, Chief Odunade, stated that the plaintiff insisted on divorce despite granting the couple the grace to settle their

differences out of court. He, therefore, dissolved the union and ordered the plaintiff to pay the defendant N5,000 to move her belongings out of his house.