A Mushin Customary Court in Lagos on Thursday reserved judgment indefinitely in a divorce suit filed by a civil servant, Mr. Okon Akpan, who accused his wife of perpetual drunkenness.
The Court President, Alhaji Babatunde Ayeni, said the decision was due to the absence, in court, of the parties involved in the case for three consecutive times.
“The parties have been absent on three consecutive adjournments that the judgment was to be passed; as such, it remains so until the parties appear in court,’’ he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Akpan, 56, filed the suit in August, 2013.
He alleged that his wife, Mercy, was a drunkard and habitual debtor.
When the case was first mentioned in court on August 22, 2013, only the petitioner was present.
On September 19, 2013, and December 4, 2013, when the estranged couple was present, the petitioner insisted on divorce, while the respondent prayed for sustenance of the marriage.
The court directed Mercy to write an undertaking not to drink alcohol again.
Ayeni adjourned the case to December 19, 2013, for judgment.
The parties were absent in court on December 19, 2013 as well as on January 20.