A Grade A Customary Court sitting at Mapo, Ibadan, has dissolved the 30-year marriage between two senior police officers, Gladys Faniyi and her husband, Abayomi Faniyi, citing persistent domestic violence and the breakdown of marital harmony.
According to a report by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the marriage was dissolved on Thursday by the court’s president, Mrs S. M. Akintayo, who declared in her judgment that the union could no longer continue in the interest of peaceful coexistence, as both parties were no longer willing to live together as husband and wife.
“The marriage between the petitioner and the respondent has ceased to exist henceforth, because the duo no longer wish to continue to live together as husband and wife,” Akintayo ruled.
She further ordered Abayomi to take full responsibility for the education and welfare of the children and granted a restraining order preventing him from harassing or embarrassing Gladys.
Gladys, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), told the court that her marriage had been characterised by constant violence and emotional distress since she moved in with Abayomi on September 23, 1996.
According to her, the situation did not improve even after the family relocated from Port Harcourt to Lagos in 2010. She said matters worsened in 2018 when she was forced to leave the matrimonial home with the children.
Gladys accused her husband of infidelity, alleging that he repeatedly brought other women into their matrimonial home despite her objections. She added that she had been solely responsible for the children’s education and upkeep since leaving the house.
She denied claims that she had prevented Abayomi from seeing the children or reported him to the police, insisting that her sole reason for approaching the court was to end the violence and secure her children’s welfare.
Responding, Abayomi, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), denied being solely responsible for the collapse of the marriage, describing his wife as troublesome and unmanageable despite his efforts to tolerate her.
He admitted to hitting her once during a disagreement, which caused her to hit her mouth on a table, but also accused her of assaulting him by pulling his manhood, an act he said could have caused serious harm.
Abayomi further alleged that Gladys kept mostly male friends without explanation and claimed he once caught her with another man. He maintained that he had contributed significantly to the children’s welfare, including assisting one of them who travelled abroad.
He also accused his wife of denying him access to the children and cited a message he received from one of them as evidence of strained relations.
After considering submissions from both parties, the court ruled that the marriage had irretrievably broken down and formally dissolved the union.
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