by Anike Jacobs

A 35-year-old man, Simeon Ekwuruke, has been arraigned before a Lagos State Chief Magistrate court sitting, Ebute Meta, for abandoning his 17-year-old wife, neglecting her basic needs and assaulting her.

According to charges levied against him, he has not fed her for the past two months.
The police prosecutor, Corporal Cyriacus Osuji, said the offence was punishable under Section 245 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, Nigeria, 2011.

It was revealed in the court that Ekwuruke and his wife had been dating since she was in Junior Secondary School 2 (JSS2) when she was barely 12.

The teenager however got pregnant when she was 13 years old and moved into Ekwuruke’s apartment on Ladafe Dada Street, Ikate, Surulere, Lagos.

Within the space of four years, the teenager had three children and is presently pregnant with her fourth child.

Presiding over the case, the Chief Magistrate, Mrs. Demi Ajayi, said the case should be brought into her chamber because it was a family matter.

The defendant Ekwuruke , who pleaded not guilty to the charge was granted bail in the sum of N100,000 with one surety in like sum.

The chief magistrate also ordered that Ekwuruke, his ‘wife’, and the three children should go for a DNA test, to ascertain the paternity of the children, while the case was adjourned till December 3, 2014.

Sola