{"id":881,"date":"2026-07-12T17:15:03","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T16:15:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=881"},"modified":"2026-07-12T17:15:04","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T16:15:04","slug":"court-annuls-14-year-marriage-orders-%e2%82%a680000-monthly-child-support","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=881","title":{"rendered":"Court Annuls 14-Year Marriage, Orders \u20a680,000 Monthly Child Support"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Wasiu Ola<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The High Court sitting in Abraka, Delta State, has dissolved a 14-year-old marriage between Mrs. Ese Imoniovu and Mr. Lucky Imoniovu, citing irretrievable breakdown of the union caused by neglect, abandonment, and conduct the court found intolerable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The judgment was delivered on January 13, 2026, by Hon. Justice Samuel I. Okeleke in Suit No. HCA\/14D\/2025. The petition for dissolution of marriage was filed by Mrs. Imoniovu on September 30, 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to evidence presented before the court, the parties were married on December 28, 2011, at the Isiokolo Marriage Registry under the Marriage Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The petitioner alleged that the marriage deteriorated due to repeated acts of abandonment, failure to provide support, and other conduct that made continued cohabitation impossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mrs. Imoniovu told the court that shortly after their marriage, the respondent abandoned her and their first child for several months without financial support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She further alleged that he later accommodated the family in unsuitable living conditions despite earlier assurances that he had secured proper housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The petitioner also testified that while she was seven months pregnant and experiencing severe abdominal pain, the respondent allegedly refused to take her to a hospital for urgent medical attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She subsequently lost the pregnancy and stated that he blamed her for the loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The court further heard allegations that the respondent\u2019s involvement in a disputed land transaction resulted in the petitioner\u2019s arrest and detention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said she was released only after members of her church assisted in securing her bail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, Mrs. Imoniovu testified that the respondent was absent during the birth of their second child and had since failed to provide care, financial support, or parental involvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Justice Okeleke held that the evidence established conduct amounting to neglect, cruelty, and abandonment, which had caused the marriage to break down irretrievably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The court noted that the respondent, although duly served with court processes, neither filed a defence nor appeared to challenge the petitioner\u2019s evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his judgment, the judge observed that marriage is intended to provide support, protection, and stability for family members, and that persistent neglect and cruelty can undermine those objectives to the point where judicial intervention becomes necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the issue of custody, the court granted custody of the couple\u2019s two children to the petitioner until they attain the age of 18 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upon reaching adulthood, the children may decide with which parent they wish to reside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The court also granted the respondent reasonable and supervised access to the children upon request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A request for a restraining order against the respondent was refused and dismissed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The court held that, except where there is evidence that contact would be harmful, children should ordinarily continue to enjoy the love, care, and affection of both parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The court further ordered the respondent to pay \u20a680,000 monthly as maintenance for the children and to contribute toward their medical and educational expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Justice Okeleke emphasized that parental responsibility for child maintenance is a continuing legal obligation and must be discharged in the best interests of the children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The court consequently issued a Decree Nisi dissolving the marriage. Under the Matrimonial Causes Act, the decree is expected to become absolute after three months unless sufficient cause is shown to the contrary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mrs. Imoniovu was represented by A.U. Oghenejakpor Esq., while the respondent did not appear and was unrepresented throughout the proceedings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Wasiu Ola\u00a0 The High Court sitting in Abraka, Delta State, has dissolved a 14-year-old marriage between Mrs. Ese Imoniovu and Mr. Lucky Imoniovu, citing irretrievable breakdown of the union caused by neglect, abandonment, and conduct the court found intolerable. The judgment was delivered on January 13, 2026, by Hon. Justice Samuel I. Okeleke in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":846,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"iawp_total_views":9,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[218,225],"class_list":["post-881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trendingnews","tag-court","tag-divorce"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=881"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/881\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":883,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/881\/revisions\/883"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}