A widow, Aisha Zubairu, on Tuesday requested that a Shari’a Court sitting in Magajin Gari, Kaduna State, facilitate her marriage to her former lover, Aminu Saminu.
The complainant had taken her father, Zubairu Surajo, to court after he refused to allow her to marry the man of her choice, citing an old grudge.
“I am a divorcee, and I want the court to affirm my right to choose a spouse,” she told the court. “Saminu and I had been in a relationship before my father forced me into my first marriage to my late husband.”
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“Now, my father says I can marry anyone else, but not Saminu. He even threatens to take legal action against any of his relatives who defy his wishes and try to marry me off,” she added.
In his defence, Surajo explained that his refusal to approve the marriage to Saminu stemmed from an old grievance with Saminu’s family.
Surajo, represented by his lawyer, Nasiru Abdullahi, stated that Saminu’s parents had not properly sought his daughter’s hand in marriage, as required by Islamic law. He also pointed out that Saminu’s parents had previously rejected the idea of their son marrying his daughter, claiming he was too immature.
Surajo further explained that the embarrassment caused by this rejection had led him to arrange his daughter’s marriage to her late husband.
However, Surajo stated that while he could not prevent the court from exercising its discretion, he would not provide any support for the marriage, other than offering his best wishes.
“We have no objection if the court decides to proceed with the marriage, but we will not offer any support, except for our best wishes,” he said.
The Judge, Malam Kabir Muhammad, requested that Surajo be physically present in court at the next hearing, which has been scheduled for 29th January.
