Posted by By Kayode Ketefe on
The first son of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Gbenga, on Tuesday begged Justice Williams-Dawodu of an Ikeja High Court to dissolve his marriage with his estranged wife, Moji, stressing that the union has 'broken down irretrievably".
The first son of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Gbenga, on Tuesday begged Justice Williams-Dawodu of an Ikeja High Court to dissolve his marriage with his estranged wife, Moji, stressing that the union has 'broken down irretrievably".
Gbenga had initiated the divorce suit against his wife on the grounds of irreconcilable differences between them. The parties had told the court at the last adjourned date that they were heading for out of court settlement of the matter in the interest of their children.
Gbenga, however, told the court on Tuesday that the 'terms of settlement" they had filed related to the issue of custody and maintenance of the two children, Boluwatife, aged seven years and Wuraola, aged five.
Giving his testimony from the witness box during an examination-in-chief administered by his lawyer, Mr. Addeh Emmako, Gbenga, gave two reasons he wanted the marriage dissolved.
He said the marriage had broken down irretrievably and that he had ceased to co-habit with Moji for the past six years.
Gbenga, who objected to his picture being taken by journalists before the proceedings started, told the court, 'I was born in Ibadan on November 20, 1971. The respondent (Moji) was born in New York November 4, 1976. We got married on April 29, 2000.
'After that we travelled and started living in Montgomery and later Houston, Texas, United States of America. We came back to Nigeria in 2002. There are two children of the marriage: these are Boluwatife, who would be seven years in a few days time and Wuraola
' I want my marriage to the respondent dissolved because of our irreconcilable differences. The marriage has broken down irretrievably. My co-habitation with the respondent has ceased since 2002. Since then we have been living apart.
'What I want the court to do for me is to dissolve the marriage and enforce our terms of agreement."
When asked by Moji's lawyer, Mrs. Helen Ovonlien, whether he was prepared to be bound by the terms of agreement on the issue of custody and maintenance of the children, Gbenga said, 'My children are my children. My duty towards them goes beyond whatever terms of agreement is filed. It goes beyond whatever the counsel or the court says."