- Court orders return of N60,000 bride price back to the former husband
The Central Court 1 sitting in Jos, Plateau State capital, has dissolved the marriage between Ibrahim Ya’u and Halima Abubakar over a claim by the wife that her husband divorced her through telephone.
The wife told the court that her husband divorced her on phone and therefore would not go back to his house, explaining that she called her husband, his phone was on hands-free and some women were around him when he made the divorce pronouncement.
The husband denied his wife’s claim, saying he did not divorce her and insisted that if she wanted the marriage to be separated she must return his bride price and all other things he bought for her.
The Judge, Ghazali Adam, said having considered the decision of the representatives of the two parties who suggested that the marriage be separated and the position of Shari’a on such case, the marriage stood dissolved.
The judge further ruled that the wife must return the N60,000 bride price to the husband because she was not able to present evidence from communication network to support her claim apart from verbal explanation.
For the husband who asked the court to order the complainant to pay him N200,000 claim, the judge said that was not possible because what he bought for her before the marriage were just gifts to get her acceptance and love and that he had also enjoyed some of the gifts when she was with him and therefore only his bride price would be paid.