On Tuesday, Woye Ella, a businesswoman, petitioned an FCT Customary Court in Garki, Abuja, to dissolve her marriage over her husband’s alleged attempt to set her on fire.
Ella’s prayer is included in the divorce petition she filed against her spouse in court.
According to the petitioner, her husband typically overreacts to minor provocation.
She stated that her spouse would occasionally grow aggressive and chase her with a deadly item such as a screwdriver or knife.
“It reached to the point where he poured fuel on me to burn me on fire; my neighbours saved my life that day.
“He was apprehended by our neighbours and taken to a neighboring police station, where he was held for four days until his father arrived from the hamlet to intervene.
“When he was asked the reason for his actions, he couldn’t mention anything tangible,” she told me.
Ella also told the court that she eventually left the residence for fear of being killed by her estranged husband.
She requested that the court force her spouse to remove the flat in which they were residing previous to her departure.
The petitioner further claimed that she owns the property.
“I bought the land and built the house myself,” she told me.
The respondent, a tiler who goes by his first name, Joseph, disputed all of his wife’s charges.
Festus Enomhonse, the presiding judge, delayed the case until February 24 for hearing.