No fewer than 2,520 divorce petitions were filed before the Ondo state High Courts in Akure in 2021.
Reliable sources at the state judiciary headquarters in Akure disclosed that over 200 divorce petitions were filed every month last year.
Blueprint gathered that out of the 2,520 divorce petitions filed, 2,400 were recorded in Akure, the state capital, while 31 were at the Ondo town High Courts and 89 were filed in Ore High Courts.
Similarly, sources at the Federal Family Court in Akure also revealed that about 135 divorce petitions were filed before the court in 2019.
This reporter also gathered that the reasons for the increase in divorce petitions ranged from infidelity, irreconcilable differences, failed obligations, family and peer interferences and neglect among others in the marriage.
A Muslim cleric, Alhaji Abdulfatai Yinusa, in his reaction regretted that it was a bad development that portended insincerity and financial challenges, adding that social media was not helping matters.
On the solution to the development, Yinusa suggested the need for entrepreneurial skills in order to have multiple sources of income, noting that the economic situation in the country had created financial frustrations in many families leaving them in disarray.
According to him, there must be self-control and discipline, especially in the use of social media as a result of the negative pressures and influences the platforms might generate, especially as it relates to infidelity.
In her submission, a marriage counsellor, Mrs. Peace Boluwatife Ojo, cited economy as the major factor, noting that, “Many homes are in distress; the lack unity and love are crucial factors as the majority of marriages and homes were not consummated on the foundation on true love, but mere fantasy and stage- managed relationships.”
