REVEALED: Why I changed my 4 children’s surname to my lover’s — Mother tells court

A mother of four, Chibuzor Lillian Obayan, has told a customary court sitting in Akure, the Ondo state capital, that she changed her children’s surname to that of her new lover because the husband was irresponsible.

The husband, Theophilus Ayodeji Obayan had dragged his estranged wife to the Grade ” A” customary court, to claim the paternity of his four children and the dissolution of their 23-year-old marriage.

Obayan lamented that the wife deliberately changed his children’s surname to her lover’s surname.

The petitioner narrated to the court that
“My lord, my marriage from the onset was characterised by crises, abuse, disobedience, misunderstanding, lies, manipulation, hate and rage.

“I married Lilian in the year 2000 and we have four children. I am a Yoruba, while my wife is of the Igbo tribe. I have suffered a lot in the hands of her family because they don’t love me, but I’ve been enduring.

“Lilian packed her belongings out of my house to another man’s house in 2019 and went to change her name, including my children’s surname to the name of the Igbo man she’s engaged to.

Obayan told the court that his estranged wife did not allow him gain access to his children since she packed out of his house.

The petitioner, therefore, prayed the court to dissolve the marriage and grant him custody of the four children, asking the court to order her to change their names back to his.

However, in her defence, Lilian who countered the petitioner’s claims, described her husband as grossly irresponsible.

The respondent said that “My lord, life was not easy for me over the years we have been together.

“In fact, Obayan derived pleasure in always molesting and beating me to the extent that I sustain body fractures.

“Obayan is not a good husband to me and good father to his children, as he doesn’t pay their school fees nor care about how they are living.

“He didn’t pay my dowry. So, I finally found a man to marry. And my new love wants my children to bear his name instead of that of their irresponsible father.

‘Our children are old enough to choose for themselves as they are no more kids.

My first two girls, Mayomi and Damilola are 22 and 20 years old, while the boys, Ariyo and Aduragbemi are 18 and 16 years old respectively.”

The respondent added that there was no traditional marriage between her and the petitioner.

Lilan, therefore, asked the court to dissolve the union, noting that she was through with the petitioner since he did not pay her dowry.

The President of the court, Magistrate Olusegun Rotiba, while ruling on the case, urged the parties to allow peace to reign between them.

Magistrate Rotiba, thereafter, adjourned the matter till September 28, 2023