My boyfriend usually calls me ashewo (prostitute) and public toilet. He is always suspicious of my movements and is quick to mention the age difference between us because I’m older,” Nkechi Ononiwu, a businesswoman, told an Igando, Lagos customary court.
The petitioner approached the court yesterday seeking separation from her live-in lover on the grounds of neglect, battery and infidelity.
“When I became pregnant with my son, I informed him about it which he initially denied being responsible for,” she said.
“Later, he suggested that I go for abortion, saying that he was not ready to be a parent. I vehemently refused, telling him that it was against the doctrine of my church.
“He later confided in his sister, who summoned me and asked me to keep the pregnancy, promising to inform their parents so they could perform the necessary rites, but this didn’t happen even until after I put to bed.
“I found out that he had gone back to his ex-girlfriend who was living on the same street with us. When I confronted him, his response was she was the person he had planned marrying but because I got pregnant for him, he had to bring me into his home.”
The petitioner further told the court that the respondent was also in the habit of beating her, and that he would always come home late and chat with his other girlfriends at odd hours.
The respondent, Mr Bright Ononiwu, a trader, said the petitioner is “disrespectful and has been having various affairs with different men”, in addition to being violent herself.
The president of the court, Mr Adeniyi Koledoye, adjourned the case until September 20.