Man Seeks Divorce After Alleging Wife Beats Him During Disagreements
A 47-year-old man, Johnson Gabriel, has asked a Kaduna Customary Court to dissolve his 20-year marriage to his wife, Janet, alleging persistent physical abuse, disrespect and threats to his life.
Gabriel, who resides in Sabon Tasha, Kaduna, made the request while testifying in a divorce suit before the court on Wednesday, August 26, 2026.
According to him, repeated disagreements in the home often degenerated into physical violence, with his wife allegedly beating him whenever they had misunderstandings.
“My ill-tempered wife beats me whenever we have a misunderstanding,” Gabriel told the court.
He further alleged that his wife had stopped conducting herself as a partner in the marriage, accusing her of being disrespectful and unwilling to submit to efforts aimed at resolving their marital problems.
“My wife no longer behaves like a wife anymore. She is not submissive. She is disrespectful. I have tried my best to resolve the matter with her, but all efforts have failed,” he said.
Gabriel told the court that attempts by members of their family and even their children to intervene had also failed to bring about a lasting resolution.
He said the alleged repeated physical attacks and threats had left him emotionally exhausted and concerned for his safety, prompting him to seek an end to the two-decade-old marriage.
“I am tired of the constant abuse and threat to life; I want a divorce,” he added.
However, Janet, who was present during the proceedings, rejected her husband’s allegations and offered a different account of the problems in the marriage.
She accused Gabriel of deliberately portraying her as the cause of their marital difficulties because he allegedly wanted to marry another woman.
“My husband wants to marry another woman, and he is trying to make me look bad. Whenever he has small money, his behaviour changes toward me,” she told the court.
Her response introduced a separate dimension to the dispute, with the couple presenting conflicting accounts of what has contributed to the breakdown of their relationship.
Presiding over the matter, Judge Dauda Bala urged the couple to consider reconciliation rather than immediately bringing their 20-year marriage to an end.
The judge particularly appealed to them to make efforts to settle their differences in the interest of their children, stressing the importance of resolving the dispute peacefully where possible.
The court subsequently adjourned the case until September 20, when it is expected to receive a report on the possibility of settlement or proceed with the hearing of the divorce petition.
Global Mirror News Perspective
The case highlights the often-hidden problem of domestic violence within marriages, where both men and women can be victims. While public discussions around intimate-partner violence frequently focus on women, allegations such as those presented before the Kaduna court underscore the need for victims of abuse, regardless of gender, to have access to protection, counselling and appropriate legal remedies.
Global Mirror News gathered that the allegations remain contested, as the wife has denied the claims and presented her own explanation for the marital conflict. The court has therefore not established the allegations as proven facts.
The matter also reflects the difficult balance courts face between preserving marriages and protecting individuals from alleged abuse. With the couple having spent two decades together and having children, the court has opted to explore reconciliation before determining the substantive issues raised in the divorce proceedings.
