Court dissolves 19-year marriage, orders wife to refund N20,000 bride price

A Sharia Court in Magajin Gari, Kaduna State, on Thursday, ordered a
divorce seeking housewife, Binta Sani, to pay N20,000 to her estranged
husband, Adamu Abdullahi, to free herself from their 19-year marriage.




The Judge, Dahiru Lawal, in his ruling said that since the
petitioner requested the divorce, it was mandatory on her to refund the
bride price paid on her so as to free herself from the marriage.




He said that Islam gives the woman the right to seek divorce through
Khul’i, which is a form of redemption in which the woman returns the
bride price paid on her to the husband to secure the divorce.




The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Binta had earlier told the
court that her husband had been ill-treating her and was not ready to
continue staying with him.




“I can no longer tolerate him; I want to return his dowry back to him
because I am fed up and there is no room for reconciliation,’’ she
said.




The respondent, however, told the court that he still loves his wife
and pleaded with the court to intervene and save their troubled
marriage.




“We have been married for 19 years, and we have five children, I
don’t want to divorce my wife, I paid N 8,000 dowry on my wife,’’ he
said.




The judge after listening to both parties said that the petitioner had the right in Islam to ask for a divorce.




“In Islam, a woman has the right to seek divorce through Khul’i, when she returns the dowry to her husband.




“However, the judge also has the right to add to the amount of the dowry to enable the husband re-marry.




“I, Dahiru Lawal, judge of Sharia Court I of Magajin Gari hereby confirm the separation of the two parties.




“From now on you are no longer husband and wife and Binta Sani would pay N20,000 to Adamu Abdullahi,’’ he ruled.




(NAN)

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