20-Year Old Kaduna Girl Sues Father Over Attempted Forced Marriage

A 20-year-old Girl, Fatima has reportedly brought her father before a Kaduna State Shari’a Court for forcing her to wed a stranger in Kaduna.

Fatima told the court that she loved someone but that her father, Aliyu Muhammad, had threatened to take her to the countryside and force her into wedlock.

Malam Bulama, Fatima’s legal counsel, also informed the court that his client didn’t sue her father out of disdain or out of respect for him.

Bulama said: “The father wants my client to marry a man in their village in Niger state. Right now, she’s living in her aunty’s house because he threatened to take her to the village and marry her off.”

Also on his part, Fatima’s father, Aliyu Muhammad said his late parents chose the man for his daughter before their death and he had to respect their wishes.

“I married my 6 daughters off in the village and they are doing well. Fatima’s mother is the brain behind her stubbornness. I need permission to consult with my people over this matter,” he said.

The judge, Isiyaku Abdulrahman, held that a father under the Shari’a law, has the right to choose a husband for his daughter.

He however noted that forced marriage is not encouraged.

“You are her father, therefore you should allow her to present the person she wants to marry and if you are pleased with his religion and character, you allow her to get married,” the court held.