My husband rapes me in the presence of our children – Wife

“My husband rapes me in the presence of our children,” a 40-year-old trader, Bolanle AbdulKareem, told an Igando Customary Court in Lagos on Wednesday.
Bolanle said her husband, Olasunkanmi, with whom she had three children in their 17-year-old marriage, molests her whenever he got drunk.
She said: “Whenever my husband comes home drunk, he will want to make love to me by fire by force and I will caution him not to do it in the presence of our children.
“He will beat me and make love to me by force, while the children watch us.
“There was a day I came back from work and I met my children, one on top of another doing what they always see their father do to me.”
The petitioner also said her husband always threatened to kill her.
She said: “My husband derives pleasure in beating me.
“There was a day he beat me and broke my leg.
“One day, he threatened to kill me, so I ran to one of my relative’s house.
“My husband came there, he met my sister’s husband ironing his clothes, he snatched the iron from him and started chasing me with it.
“Seeing his desperation, I ran into the street and my husband still chased me with the pressing iron.
“Anytime, I reported him at the Police Station, the Police always tell me that it is a family matter and refused to caution him.”
Bolanle described her husband as an irresponsible husband and father, who did not care about the welfare and education of the children.
According to her, Olasunkanmi neither cares for her nor the children, adding that she is the one paying the school fees of the children.
She said: “He has a tricycle that he is using for business, but he always uses the proceeds to drink to stupor and usually loses self control.”
She begged the court to dissolve their marriage, adding that she was no longer in love with the husband.
However, Olasunkanmi, who did not deny the allegation of raping his wife, however, begged the court not to dissolve the union.
He said: “Please, do not dissolve our marriage, I still love my wife, I know I have made a mistake; I will make amend.”
The 42-year-old commercial tricycle operator admitted that he used to beat his wife, whenever she flouted his orders.
Olasunkanmi said: “I don’t derive pleasure in beating her, but I only beat her whenever she disobeys my instruction.
“The day I snatched the pressing iron from my in-law, I only wanted to use the iron wire to beat her and not to burn her.”
He said he was not a drunk, but that he drank moderately.
The President of the court, Adegboyega Omilola, ordered the couple to come along with three members of their families for Alternative Dispute Resolution.