On Friday, Customary Court in Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo State
dissolved a 12-year-old marriage between an Ibadan-based businesswoman, Sekinat
and her husband Raufu Abdulakeem, over attempted child sacrifice.
The President of the court, Mr Ademola Odunade, held that
there was nothing the court could do since Sekinat and Raufu had both concluded
to part ways.
Odunade, however, awarded custody of the two children
produced by the union to Sekinat for proper motherly care.
He directed 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.
Sekinat had said that Raufu sent her away from the house in
order to offer their 11-year-old child for sacrifice.
“My lord, after Raufu, had sent me packing from his home
more than a year ago, I came across our 11-year-old child recently 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," Sekinat stressed.
Raufu, however, denied the allegation.
He acknowledged that it was true that he took his son to a
ritualist and the intention was to cure him of the spirit of stealing in him.
"My lord, he is my son, I cannot use him for anything
negative, but to take care of his spiritual deficiency," Raufu said.
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