Sa’adatu Ayuba, a housewife, is seeking the dissolution of her 27-year-old marriage to her husband, Jalija, on grounds of alleged impotence. The petitioner, who married Jalija in accordance with Islamic law in 1997 and has five children aged 25, 22, 14, nine, and seven, stated her claim before the Dei-Dei Grade I Area Court in Abuja.
“I got married when I was 16 years old, and I have never been with any other man before my marriage,” she said. “For the past two years, I have been having misunderstandings with him because he got a girlfriend outside our marriage. He has not been functioning as a man, and I am tired of the situation and his attitude. I want a divorce in the interest of justice.”
In response, Jalija refuted the petitioner’s allegations, claiming they were false and that he had no girlfriend. He stated that he had married another woman and was fulfilling his role as a man with her, citing that they had a child together, and their marriage took place in her village.
Jalija insisted that he had been performing his duties as a husband to the petitioner. However, Sa’adatu Ayuba contested his claim, asserting that the woman he mentioned was his girlfriend, and she was unaware of their marriage.
The judge, Malam Saminu Suleiman, gave the couple one week to settle the matter amicably and adjourned the case until January 17, 2024, for feedback.
