A Shari’a Court II sitting in Magajin Gari, Kaduna, on Monday dissolved the marriage between Bara’atu Ohunene and her husband, Mike Muhammed, under Khul’i.
Khul’i is a form of Islamic divorce in which a wife secures the dissolution of her marriage by returning the dowry paid by her husband.
Delivering judgment, the Presiding Judge, Malam Yakubu Abdullahi, ordered Ohunene to refund the N5, 000 dowry she received before the marriage was solemnised.
Earlier, the petitioner had asked the court to dissolve the marriage, stating that she was willing to return the dowry as required under Khul’i.
However, she told the court that her husband had borrowed the same N5,000 from her after their marriage and had failed to repay the debt.
She urged the court to treat the outstanding debt as the dowry she was required to refund.
The court rejected her request, ruling that the issue of the debt was separate from the conditions for obtaining a Khul’i divorce.
It held that she must refund the dowry before the marriage could be dissolved under Islamic law.
The respondent was absent from the proceedings but sent a message to the court stating that he no longer reside in Kaduna and was therefore unable to attend.
The court also held that it had jurisdiction to hear the matter because the marriage was contracted in Kaduna, in spite of the respondent’s absence. (NAN)
