Abuja — An Ibadan Customary Court Monday dissolved the five-year-old marriage of Mr Azeez Dauda, an auto mechanic who accused his wife, Alaba, of witchcraft. Dauda had claimed that his wife was evil and that she was behind all his misfortunes in life. He told the court that he married Alaba against the wish of his mother and family members because he believed strongly then that she would make a good housewife.

He said to prove his love for Alaba, he supported her education up to the Ordinary National Diploma level. "She was pregnant by the time we married, but I went ahead with the marriage against my mother's wish. Two years into our marriage, I sold my belongings and travelled to Germany, but I came back home when I discovered that life there was not as rosy as I had thought," he said.

Dauda noted that on his return, his business nose-dived and that he could no longer afford to meet up with the financial demands of his wife. He said when he went to find out about the cause of his problems from 'spiritual homes', he was told his wife was the cause of his problems. Dauda said his wife once served him a meal of cockroaches and that when he queried her, she said this was the beginning of the problems she would create for him. Alaba, who asked the court to grant the divorce request, however, denied ever having a witchcraft.

"I married him because I thought he was a good Muslim, but not long into our marriage, he started visiting spiritual homes and unimaginable places for spiritual assistance," she said. She said matters were worsened by her mother-in-law, who persistently called her a wizard. Alaba said the situation assumed a frightening dimension when parents in their neighbourhood began to warn their children to stay off her house. My husband once asked me to buy a spotless white chicken and fry it for neighbours, but that I must not eat out of it," she said.

In his judgment, the President of the Court, Mr Olayinka Owoade, dissolved the marriage, sayig he was doing so because both had agreed that they were no longer ready to live together as husband and wife. In addition, he gave the custody of their child, Zanaib, 5, to Alaba and ordered Azeez to pay her N3,000 as monthly upkeep for the child. NAN