A Sharia court in Tsafe LGA in Zamfara state on Tuesday dissolved a man’s 23-year marriage, Alhaji Musa Tsafe, to a granddaughter of his brother Hajiya Wasila Isah.
The Zamfara State Hizbah Commission sued the couple, citing injunctions from the Holy Qur’an and other books of Islamic jurisprudence.
The Tsafe LGA Shura Council, supported by the Emirates Council, had urged the couple to separate after discovering the union was illegal under Islamic law.
Months after the couple were informed of the illegality of their marriage, however, they refused to separate, insisting the marriage was legitimate. The couple gave birth to eight children.
In delivering the verdict, Judge Bashir Mahe said the court, after hearing both the plaintiff and the accused, found the marriage to be against the tenets of Islam.
The judge ruled that the marriage violated verse 73 of Suratul Nisa’i and the injunctions on page 79 of Ashalul Madariki and page 77 of Ihkamil Ihkami.
He explained that the verdict came after the defendants’ attorney was unable to present evidence to convince the court of the legality of the marriage.
However, the judge said the defendants reserved the right to appeal if they were not satisfied with the verdict.
The lawyer for the state Hizbah Commission, Barrister Muhammad Sani, expressed his satisfaction with the verdict and thanked everyone who contributed to the success of the case.
Judge Bashir Mahe previously ordered Wasila Isah’s arrest after she refused to comply with his order that she move from her marital home to her father’s house pending the court’s decision on the case. The woman resisted attempts to arrest her and went into hiding.
