It was drama undiluted at an Abia High court recently when a married man, Mr Richard Harrison prayed the court to dissolved his marriage to his wife, Julia over alleged infidelity.
In a suit brought through his counsel, Mr Stanley Amakwe, Harrison sought the leave of the court to dissolve the marriage on the ground that the marriage contract had broken down. He also insisted that the two sets of twins in the family are not his children.
Harrison claimed they were adopted by his wife without his consent and that he would have nothing to do with them any more. He told the court that he initially accepted the children in his home out of sympathy, but that it is time for them to leave with his wife.
Funny enough, the court sitting in Uzuakoli rejected Harrison's plea for the dissolution of his marriage over the paternity of two sets of twins in his home. The presiding Judge, Justice Joyce Adiele, said Harrison had no basis to deny the paternity of the children since they had been part of his household.
She said that the petitioner had earlier told the court that the two sets of twins were his children and that he had great plans for them. Justice Adiele said Section 69(c) of the Matrimonial Causes Act provides hat children in a marriage whether by birth or adoption are part of the marriage.
But surprisingly, counsel to his wife, Julia, told the court that the husband was the biological father of the children, claiming they were not adopted as claimed.
The counsel thus applied for an order of the court for a DNA test between Harrison and the children to authenticate the claims of his wife.
At this juncture, the Judge got 'confused' and adjourned the case to a later date for judgement on the various claims by both parties and the application for a DNA for a supposedly adopted children.
