A pastor who abandoned his wife and children since 2010 and impregnated another woman has maintained that his action does not amount to adultery.

The woman is basically seeking dissolution of their 16-year-old marriage.

When he appeared before an Alagbado Customary Court in Lagos on Thursday, Pastor Joshua Aranse defended his action.

He said: “I am a pastor and I counsel people. It is true that I abandoned her. For over four years, she did not allow me to have sexual intercourse with her.

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“This is why I went out of my way to impregnate another woman.”

Stating her case, the petitioner, Funmilayo said; “In 2014, he finally abandoned our matrimonial home.

“My husband has not set his eyes on his three children since June 30, 2014. He refused to pay their school fees. They no longer go to school because I do not have money to send them to school.”

She further claimed that: “He sold our car and gave the money to the woman he impregnated. He has refused to take care of the children and me.”

Funmilayo  concluded that: “Please separate us because I no longer love him.”

However, in his response, Pastor Joshua said: “When I sold the car, I gave her a sum of N40,000, but she used the money to buy second-hand shoes to sell.

“I did not commit adultery except the woman I impregnated.”

He also concluded just like the petitioner that: “I don’t love her anymore.”

While the court adjourned the hearing to March 13, it ordered the respondent to pay N15,000 for the upkeep of the children until the final verdict of the court is determined.