Woman Files For Divorce Over Rape By Pastor-husband

A make-up artist, Mary Iyayi, 38, has told a Lagos Island Customary Court to dissolve her two-year-old marriage to her husband, Pastor Samuel Iyayi, over allegations of rape and domestic violence.

“My husband raped me and I had to lose a two-month old pregnancy in the process. I want the dissolution of my two-year-old marriage,” she said.

She added, “My pastor-husband held my hands to the wall, so I could not move. I told him that I was pregnant but he did not listen, until he forcefully made love to me. After it, I started bleeding and I lost the pregnancy. He told me later that he had just helped me to flush out the pregnancy.’’

Mary said that she had three abortions for pastor during their courtship in order to save his ministry from crumbling.

“It was after we had been married that I knew that he married me because of my money and not that he truly loves for me. He once told me that he preferred a woman with big breasts which I do not have,” she said.

Mary told the court that her husband was fond of beating her at any slight provocation and that act had led her to have two miscarriages.

“While he was beating me, he also pushed me and I hit my stomach against the wall, and I lost a pregnancy in the process.’’

She also told the court that before she packed out of her matrimonial home in June, last year , her husband had stopped sleeping in the same room with her.

“Due to the three abortions and two miscarriages I suffered, I was told at the hospital that my womb had been tampered with and that it would take divine intervention for me to be pregnant again. Also, my husband threatened to kill me if I should leave him, saying it is against the law of his church. He said that their church law forbids its members from marrying another wife if the former wife was still alive. I packed all my belongings from his house except my wedding gown which he seized. I want the court to help me collect it from him and dissolve the union. I am making this appeal because I am the only child of my parents and I do not want to die prematurely and mysteriously,” she said.

Mary also told the court that she bought almost all the items including the two cell phones her husband was currently using.

While responding, the husband, Pastor Samuel Iyayi, 35, told the court that he did not rape his wife.

“It is true we had sex and she lost some blood in the process, but I did not rape her. She also left home in April 2014 for one and a-half months only to return after some of our church members had intervened on her behalf.”

Iyayi, however, speaking on the wedding gown said, “I had sold the wedding gown when my father was sick and I could not raise money to offset his hospital bills.”

He said that he was still in love with his wife and was ready to have her back if she was still in love with him.

The President, Chief Awos Awosola, ordered the man to produce the wedding gown at the court’s next hearing on June 1.