A Lagos trader and mother of three, Rafiat Okunola, yesterday, told a Customary Court in Ibadan, that her ex-husband, Kasali Adeleke, allegedly killed her daughter for ritual.
President of the Court, Henry Agbaje, had in 2016 dissolved the union between Rafiat and Adeleke on grounds of battery, attempted sale of child and lack of care.
The court in that judgment awarded custody of the three children to the husband because they were already grown-up and directed the wife to approach the court anytime she desired seeing the children.
Rafiat, prayed the court to give her custody of the two children left with her ex-husband because she was scared that Adeleke might expose their lives to danger.
โI was shocked when our first child informed me that their father, Adeleke buried his younger sister after she died in 2018.
โAfter our separation, I went to work in Lagos State and when I returned to Ibadan in December 2018, I went to visit my children.
โMy first child told me that his younger sister had died and had been buried by his father.
โThen, I asked my relatives who also live in Ibadan whether Adeleke carried them along concerning how the girl died or not.
โThey informed me that they were not aware of anything.
โI suspected that he may have used her for ritual,โ Rofiat said.
Denying the allegation, the defendant, who is a trader, accused his ex-wife of being a child trafficker.
He prayed the court to dismiss Rafiatโs request to take custody of the remaining two children based on her insincerity and dubious character.
โMy lord, there is nothing strange about the circumstances that led to our daughterโs death.
โWhen I was burying the girl, Rafiatโs mother, three sisters and a man married to one of the sisters were present.
โBefore Rafiat and I separated, the girl had been nursing a leg injury which she also took care.
โThe leg injury developed some complications and she was hospitalised, where she later died.
โRafiat is in fact responsible for the girlโs death through her misbehaviour which the daughter was unhappy about.
โOne of the reasons I called it quits with Rafiat then was due to her dubious character and the attempt she made at selling our last child.โ
The courtโs president, however, requested them to provide more evidence to substantiate their arguments, asking them to bring along their family members.
He adjourned the case until April 4, for judgment.
