A Makurdi Upper Area Court on Monday dissolved the marriage between Mr Matthew Alyebo and Mrs. Dorcas Nguevese Alyebo, following the former’s loss of interest in the union.

Delivering her judgment in a divorce case filed by Mathew, the Judge, Mrs. Rose Iyorshee, said that the court could not compel the two to remain in a marriage without the consent of one of those involved.

Quoting the Holy Bible to justify her action, she said that the book of Amos, Chapter 3, verse 3 stated that “two cannot walk together unless they agree”.

“More to that, this court cannot compel two people to continue in a marriage where one is not consenting.

“The marriage between Matthew Alyebo and Dorcas Nguevese Alyebo is hereby dissolved and they cease to be man and wife.

“The respondent is hereby restrained, either by herself, or through any of her family members, friends, relations, agents, maids, privies or whosoever, from coming to Mathew’s house, village, office or any other place of his dwelling to attack him, his wife, children or other family members.

“The respondent is further restrained from parading herself, in any quarters, as his wife. Cross claims of the respondent failed and are hereby dismissed,” she ruled

Alyebo had dragged his wife, Dorcas, to the Upper Area Court, seeking the dissolution of the marriage.

Alyebo also asked the court to grant an order of perpetual injunction restraining Dorcas and her people from coming to his house, village, office or any other place of his dwelling to attack him and his wife/children or other family members.

He also asked the court to grant another perpetual injunction restraining the respondent from further using his name and parading herself, in any quarters, as his wife.

He told the court that he met Dorcas in 2009 while working with a law firm that was handling her case.

According to him, he later took over the case and they started a relationship.

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Describing the respondent as “troublesome”, the petitioner alleged that Dorcas quarrels with everyone around, and had once instituted against him.

“In 2011, when I sought permission from the respondent to marry another wife, since she was old and could not be able to bear children, Dorcas opposed the idea and declared that it could only happen over her dead body.

“So, when she later discovered that I had a child with another lady, she burnt the house the lady was staying in, and threatened to kill me.

“She later wrote an undertaking not to harm me.

“From what I gathered, she has visited hospitals and herbalists’ homes in her bid to conceive. Such desperation led her to a herbalist who prepared some herbs meant to keep me tied to her perpetually”.

Alyebo further told the court that when the situation became unbearable, he fled from the house, remarried and moved on with his life.

“But even after I left the house for her, Dorcas kept attacking me and my family,”  he said.

He denied ever collecting money from the respondent, adding that she never bought a car for him.

The respondent, Dorcas Alyebo, however, opposed the dissolution of the marriage.

Dorcas claimed that she and Mathew had a blood covenant, and explained that the traditional marriage rites that brought them together were unholy and fetish.

She also declared that she would remain his wife until he paid money he was owing her.

Dorcas averred that she met the petitioner in 2007, immediately after his national youth service, when he was working with Gbehe and Co., a law firm.

“In the course of handling my case, he sought to know more about me and I obliged him.”

According to the respondent, they became very close and he moved into her apartment when she got pregnant in 2009. She tendered pregnancy test result to support her claims.

Dorcas said that they got married according to traditional rites, adding that when she was four months pregnant, she collected a loan of N150,000 and gave the petitioner to buy a car.

She tendered a Guaranty Trust Bank loan agreement as evidence.

She told the court that she left the petitioner over his constant request for anal sex but later returned.

“When I returned, he insisted on anal sex and had his way. That later resulted in the loss of the pregnancy,” he said.

Dorcas told the court that she took another bank loan and gave the petitioner N1.2m when he was contesting election to the Benue House of Assembly.

“The petitioner promised that we will go for artificial insemination, popularly referred to as IVF so that I can conceive, if he won the election,” she claimed.

She asked the court to compel the petitioner to undo the rituals he made her undergo during their marriage rites, so as to break the entire covenant.

Dorcas also pleaded that the court should compel the petitioner to pay her all the monies he borrowed from her.

(NAN)