A Mapo Customary Court in Ibadan has dissolved the 30-year-marriage between former Super Eagles coach, Adegboye Onigbinde, and his wife, Anne on the grounds that there is no more love in the union.
The President of the court, Ademola Odunade, also directed Mr. Onigbinde to pay a cash sum of N5, 000 to enable Anne to move her belongings out of his house.
Mr. Onigbinde who is the first indigenous coach to lead Nigeria to the FIFA senior World Cup had gone to the court, asking it to dissolve the marriage, saying his wife was, “a wasteful spender and an unrepentant troublemaker.”
He told the court: “My lord, with my 79 years of age, I cannot continue to die in silence due to Anne’s litany of problems.
“Among many other troubles I have encountered in the hands of Anne, I have also suffered uncountable financial losses during the process of trying to give Anne means of livelihood so that she wouldn’t be idle.
“On three separate occasions, I have established veritable business ventures for her and on each occasion, Anne wrecked the business. I can’t continue in such wastage. For many years, Anne has been a thorn in my flesh through ceaseless trouble-making as it is one day, one trouble in my home.
“Can you imagine that it was not until only one week to the wedding ceremony of the only daughter she had with me that she informed me? In fact, Anne has openly turned that daughter against me because she doesn’t take any instruction from me,” Mr. Onigbinde said.
He said his wife had become a bad influence on their daughter and that ”she doesn’t even have any good relationship with the rest of his children.”
“For instance, when I lost my younger brother, Anne and her daughter refused to be sympathetic by registering any form of condolence. The list of her misbehaviour is endless, please terminate our union,” Mr. Onigbinde said.
Anne had, however, opposed the request for the divorce and denied all the allegations leveled against her.
“My lord, I have done everything possible to please my husband, but he is refusing to be pacified. Ever since he got married to another wife 10 years ago, things have changed from bad to worse, as I no longer know how to do things in his presence”, she said.
“Since then, Onigbinde’s body language is for me to vacate his home; he no longer finds happiness in me. On a particular day, just as I opened the door, I came across a snake waiting to harm me, but I raised the alarm and it was killed. My lord, it was never in our agreement to be parting ways in this manner.
“In the interest of the child between us, I have nowhere to go, please, help save my marriage”, Anne pleaded.
