Joshua Ajagunigbala, a Nigerian pastor in Ekiti State, and Rita Ajagunigbala’s union has been dissolved as a result of allegations that Rita had an extramarital relationship with a herbalist.
He described how, on January 2, 2023, the herbalist died on top of the respondent during a sexual encounter in a hotel in Ikere, Ekiti. This caused a stir and prompted thugs to burn down the herbalist’s home and church in Ikere.
He bemoaned the fact that her behavior caused his suspension by his church authority and, as a result, he is no longer interested in the marriage. He begged with the Court to break the marriage and grant him custody of his children.
In response, Mrs. Ajagunigbala acknowledged having a sexual relationship with the deceased herbalist. She claimed that the petitioner’s carelessness caused her contact with the herbalist. She claimed that she had been in charge of providing the kids with food and paying their tuition. She said that the late Ejiogbe helped her pay off a large amount of debt that she had accumulated.
As the two youngest children of the union are still minors, the Court instructed Pastor Ajagunigbala, the petitioner, to take full responsibility for their upbringing and education.
In his ruling on the subject, Mr. Joseph Oyedele, the court’s president, stated that there was no valid traditional marriage between the two of them, adding that they can go their separate ways.
“Having gone through all the oral evidence presented before this Court, it was discovered that there was no legal customary marriage between parties herein and there is no marriage available between parties to dissolve.
The Court hereby order that the parties are now free to go on their own without disturbing the peace of each other.
On the issue of the custody of the children, the Court can only order on the last two children of the marriage because they are yet to reach the age of majority. The first two children are free to decide under whose care they can live between the two parties because they are no longer minors.”
However, the Court order that the last two children of the association (Olarewaju and Victoria Ajagunigbala) are to be with the petitioner and the petitioner is to be responsible for their welfare and education,”
the court ordered.