Woman Sues Ex-Husband For Disrupting Marriage

A divorcee, Hajara Usman, on Monday sued her former husband before an Upper Area Court in Karu, Abuja, for stopping her from re-marrying.

Usman, residing in Asokoro, Abuja told the court that she got married to one Adamu Abdullahi in 2011 but that they got divorced in 2016.

She said that while the marriage lasted, Abdullahi tortured her at the slightest provocation.

“My parents actually forced me to marry him. I never loved him and when I got into the marriage, I discovered that Abdullahi was ill-tempered.

“He usually beats me up whenever he is angry and his parents and mine warned him several times to stop it but he did not heed their advice.’’

Usman said that Abdullahi divorced her in November 2016, compelling her to leave his house immediately after pronouncing `divorce’ three times in line with Islamic injunction.

“I have long observed my compulsory Idah(waiting) period but my ex-husband has refused to allow me to marry other suitors coming for me.’’

She told the court that having finished observing the waiting period, two men had at different times indicated interest to marry her.

Usman said that each of the times her former husband knew about her wedding plans and the ceremony that followed, he came to the venue and disrupted the ceremony.

“In April this year, the man who first indicated interest to marry me came to perform the wedding rites, my ex-husband sent a group of boys to disrupt the ceremony.

“On another occasion, when he heard I was about to re-marry, he way-laid me and beat me up so much that I had to plead with him.

“On the day he beat me, he said he was beating me so that no man would desire me since I decided to move on and re-marry almost immediately.”

She pleaded with the court to compel her former husband to explain why he would not allow her to re-marry because his actions had discouraged her suitors.

Usman also pleaded with the court to divorce her and Abdullahi formally and legally, saying that she no longer had interest in Abdullahi.

“I want the court to issue us a divorce certificate and restrain him from coming close to me,’’ Usman pleaded.

Reacting to the statement of his former wife, Abdullahi, who also resides in Asokoro, said that it was true that they were no longer married.

He said that his grouse was that his former wife came to the court to tell lies against him.

“Since I divorced her, according to the tenets of our religion, I had nothing to do with her.

“I have avoided her and her family because the marriage was arranged between our parents and we were never meant for each other,’’ he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the estranged couple has no child from the marriage.

The Judge, Mr Abdullahi Baba, adjourned the matter until Nov. 1 for the plaintiff to come to court with at least two persons, who witnessed the disruption of her marriage rites.

Baba said that a divorce certificate would be issued to the parties at the completion of the case since there was no more love between them and they had also been living apart.

He, however, urged the parties to maintain peace since they lived in the same neighbourhood.