A cleric, Pastor Elijah Popoola, has dragged his estranged wife, Busayo Popoola, before an Ake, Abeokuta, Ogun State Customary Court, for allegedly razing his church building, located at the Car-Wash area of the state capital.
The pastor told the court that his wife burnt down the building, following a disagreement that ensued between them.
Popoola prayed the court to grant his prayers for divorce on the grounds that the marriage between them had become bereft of love and now dominated by frequent fighting, disrespect and threat to life.
He alleged that after she burnt down his first church building and he relocated, his wife went to his new location he rented at the Itoko area of Abeokuta to cause some trouble, which forced the owner of the property to issue him a quit notice.
The pastor, who prayed the court to dissolve their marriage, lamented that some members of his church left him due to his wife’s frequent fighting.
The cleric said that his wife, backed by her mother, refused to appear in court for the second time because she had boasted that the court could not do anything to her.
Popoola said, “My wife is too troublesome. She burnt down my church at Car-Wash last year. We later moved away from that place to Itoko, where we rented another building for my church. But my wife still continued to cause trouble and the landlord gave me some months’ quit notice to pack out of the building.
“I want the court to dissolve our marriage because she had sent away some of my church members by fighting them and that has put a setback to my ministerial work. She even boasted to me that the court could not do anything to her and that is why she did not come to the court today.”
The President of the court, Chief Akande. O. O, said that he could not just dissolve the marriage between the couple without giving the woman an opportunity to defend herself.
He then urged Popoola to give his wife a summon to appear in court.
The court president, therefore, adjourned the matter to July 18.
