Court dissolves marriage over doubtful paternity

An Igando Customary Court in Lagos State has ordered the dissolution of the marriage between Mr. Jose Salami and Mrs. Sola Jaiyeola, on grounds of the doubtful paternity of their only child.

Vanguard reports that in a petition filed before the court, Salami, a resident of Number 9, Bakare St., Igando, Lagos State, said he doubted the paternity of the only child produced by the union.

“In March 2013, she said she was a month pregnant for me; so, I arranged for a traditional marriage to be done. But to my surprise, my wife put to bed in July of that same year, and when I asked how possible it was, she waived it aside.

In his judgment, the President of the court, Adeniyi Koledoye, said that it appeared the love between the couple had since perished. He noted that the respondent did not show up in court in spite of several summons.

“There is no doubt that the respondent was in another relationship from which she was pregnant, and perhaps the pregnancy was rejected and she decided to hang it on the petitioner. However, the petitioner ought to have opted out of the marriage immediately he discovered that the paternity of the child was doubtful. It is clear the petitioner was deceived into the marriage by the respondent,” the judge held

Koledoye, therefore, dissolved the marriage and ordered the respondent to pay N200,000 to the petitioner.