An Ibadan-based businesswoman, Sekinat Abdulakeem, Friday, sought for the dissolution of her 12 year-old marriage to her husband, Raufu Abdulakeem, over attempted child sacrifice.
Sekinat told the Mapo Customary Court in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, that her husband sent her away from the house in order to have enough space to offer their 11-year-old child for sacrifice.
She said, “My lord, after Raufu, had sent me packing from his home more than a year ago. He came to me before then and sought for my permission to sacrifice our child for money rituals, that we will give birth to more, but I refused.
“After I left, I came across our 11 year-old child and I saw multiple razor mutilation all over his body.
“It was a gory site to behold and I immediately became apprehensive of what my two children were undergoing in my absence with Raufu. Then, the child told me that his father, Raufu took him to a ritualist who compelled him to carry some sacrificial objects at 1:00 a.m. after designing his body parts with razor mutilation.
“The boy further said that his father, Raufu, had alleged that he was trying to prevent him from further stealing and that was the reason for the sacrifice.
“My lord, the fundamental questions at this point is that Raufu is an Alfa with strong Islamic background, what is his association with a herbalist and making a child at that tender age to undergo such a midnight exercise.
“Before sending me out of his house, Raufu had subjected me to such dehumanising experiences such as regular battery and inadequate care for I and the two children.
“I have all along been responsible for the welfare of the children and I want to have custody of all the children because he might use them for ritual,” the complainant added.
On his part, Raufu, denied the allegation, saying although it was true that he took his son to a ritualist, the intention was to cure him of the spirit of stealing in him.
He said, “My lord, he is my son I cannot use him for anything negative, but to take care of his spiritual deficiency.”
The President of the court, Mr. Ademola Odunade, in his ruling, said there was nothing the court could do since Sekinat and Raufu had both concluded to part ways.
Odunade awarded custody of the two children produced by the union to Sekinat for proper motherly care, ordering Raufu to pay a monthly feeding allowance of N3,000 for the upkeep of each of the two children in addition to been responsible for their education and other welfare going forward.
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