On January 26, 2024, a public servant named Aku Bakari brought his wife, Mary, before a Customary Court in Nyanya, accusing her of being excessively involved in church activities.
Residing in Nyanya, Abuja, the petitioner filed for divorce, alleging that his wife had neglected her responsibilities as a wife and mother. According to him, Mary consistently prioritizes church activities over family duties, often spending entire weekends at church, disregarding the family’s well-being.
Aku Bakari informed the court that his attempts to discourage his wife from attending a specific church had been met with resistance. He expressed his concern that Mary’s devotion to the church was causing her to neglect her marital and maternal responsibilities.
“We were happily living together as husband and wife until the year 2010, when I started noticing some strange behaviors in my wife especially her mode of dressing. She stopped wearing ear rings and necklaces, claiming that those things belong to the devil,” he said.
“That was when I noticed that she had stopped attending our family church, Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria (NCCN), and was attending another church where she is being brain washed. I told her to stop, but she refused it is on this account that I wish to divorce her.”
The respondent, Mary who is a cleaner, was present in court but denied the allegations.
The presiding judge, Doocivir Yawe, advised the couple to reconcile for the sake of the children and adjourned the matter until January 30, 2024, for hearing.
