Father jailed for refusing to take custody of children

A fashion designer, Mrs. Kehinde Babalola, had earlier pleaded with the Agege Customary Court to dissolve her marriage with Mr. Morufu Babalola, and also grant her the custody of her children.

The court had, on June 13, asked the husband to withdraw his children from his stepmother, who lives in Ibadan, and bring them to court on June 17.

He was warned that anything contrary to that would attract a jail term of 14 days without an option of fine.

This ruling was given after Babalola, a meat seller, explained to the court that his wife was not mentally stable and should not be granted custody of their children as she once dumped their last child by the bush side.

He had told the court that the children were better off with his stepmother, who trained him.

But the wife said she didn’t like the idea of her children living with Babalola’s stepmother.

She claimed that his husband’s family members never wanted their marriage to work out.

The court thought it was unwise of Babalola to take his children to his stepmother and so asked him to go and get them.

Babalola, however, refused to bring the children to court; instead, he filed for a divorce in another court, where the first court was contacted.

When he appeared before the court on Monday, the court asked him why he had disobeyed its order.

He said, “I met a pastor on my way home and he asked me not to travel in the next six months; that if I did, I might die. After I heard that message, every effort I made to bring my children to Lagos proved abortive.”

The court president, Mr. Emmanuel Sokunle, told him that what he had done was a contempt of court.

He refused to bring the children to court as ordered and also went ahead to file a similar suit in another court while the initial case was still in Sokunle’s court.

Sokunle sentenced him to 14 days imprisonment in the Maximum Security Prison, Kirikiri.

He later adjourned the case till July 1, when Babalola’s jail term would be completed.

He said the man would then travel to Ibadan to bring the two children to Lagos for the continuation of the case.



-- Punch