An Omu-Aran Area Court in Kwara on Wednesday dissolved a 15-year-old marriage of a carpenter, Akeem Abiodun, over battering of his wife.

The judge, Mr Adebola Banigbe, said that the court had to dissolve the marriage since Akeem and his wife, Omolara, consented to the dissolution.

Banigbe reprimanded the carpenter for maltreating Omolara, saying that his low income status was not an excuse.

He gave the custody of the children to the Omolara, who applied for divorce.

In her petition on Feb. 27, Omolara prayed the court to dissolve the union, saying that Akeem subjected her to untold hardship since the inception of their marriage.

“I cannot bear it any longer; in spite of my suffering to cater for the education and upkeep of our five children, all I normally get in return is constant beating.

“ I am no longer interested in the union. I want the court to dissolve it and give me the custody of the children,” Omolara had submitted.

In his response, Akeem admitted that he beat Omolara constantly, but blamed it on economic hardship.

“ I don’t have the economic capacity to take proper care of the children. This has been the cause of my quarrel with my wife.

“I have searched for contracts without success; the ones I executed did not yield any value; you don’t expect me to go and steal.

I support her plea for the dissolution of the marriage and award of the custody of the children to her,” Akeem said.