Court dissolves marriage over sickle cell anaemia

Court dissolves marriage over sickle cell anaemia

Tuesday, April 12, 2016 2:25 pm


 

A sickle cell awareness campaign in Lagos

A sickle cell awareness campaign in Lagos

By Cyriacus Izuekwe

A six-year old marriage has been dissolved in Lagos over sickle-cell anaemia.

The Lagos customary court sitting in Ejigbo dissolved the marriage between  Chiamaka and her husband Ugo Maxwell following a petition by  Chiamaka.

She  told the court that her husband did not tell her the truth about his blood group before they married. Chiamaka’s blood group is AS.

She said her husband’s  false claim had turned out to be the obstacle to the marriage after they had a child who is now four years old.

She said when Maxwell proposed to her,  she asked him to check his blood group to know his status.

She claimed  he presented a false report  that his status was AA . On this basis, she went into the marriage with him and  they performed rites according to the tradition. They started living as husband and wife.

She said two years after, she became pregnant and delivered a baby who later turned out to be a sickler.

When they went to the hospital to find out what happened,  blood tests  were conducted on the two of them and it was revealed that her husband’s blood group was AS, just like hers.

She asked the court to dissolve the marriage because her husband lied and falsely led  her into marriage,  which has become traumatic for  both of them.

She also informed the court that with their blood status, it was clear that they could not remain married and continue to produce children without the possibility of the children  having sickle-cell  anaemia.

She  told the court that she no longer loves her  husband because he  had proven to be a  blatant liar who lied on every thing.

On his part, Maxwell denied that he was a liar. He also denied hiding his AS status. But he agreed that  the court should  dissolve the marriage as she had requested.

The court in its ruling stated that the marriage has broken down irretrievably.

It  therefore nullified the marriage and  ordered that Chiamaka should take custody of the former couple’s only child.

Over 40 million Nigerians are estimated to have the sickle-cell gene. And yearly 150,000 babies are born with the blood disorder.

*Will you blame Chiamaka for asking for divorce? Do you support her attitude. Let’s get your view.


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