Kano man to sweep mosque for 6 months over wife battery

For beating his wife, the Sharia Court 1 sitting at Kofar Kudu in Municipal Local Government Area of Kano State has sentenced Ali Abdulrahman Tanko to six months of community service, during which he will sweep a mosque three times a week. Tanko was also ordered to pay N10,000 to cover his wife’s medical bills […]

For beating his wife, the Sharia Court 1 sitting at Kofar Kudu in Municipal Local Government Area of Kano State has sentenced Ali Abdulrahman Tanko to six months of community service, during which he will sweep a mosque three times a week.

Tanko was also ordered to pay N10,000 to cover his wife’s medical bills and receive 10 strokes of the cane after assaulting her for demanding money to buy detergent to wash the family’s clothes.

Despite the sentence, Tanko told the court he still loves his wife, Maryam Umar, and does not want their marriage dissolved.

The presiding judge, Shamsuddeen Ado Abdullahi Unguwar Gini, heard that the argument escalated after Tanko refused to provide the money, leading to the wife sustaining several injuries.

Tanko was convicted of using excessive force and committing battery, offences punishable under the Sharia Penal Code.

In his ruling, the judge affirmed the sentence, directing that Tanko perform the community service, pay the N10,000 medical bill, and receive the prescribed corporal punishment.

Earlier, the defendant’s counsel, Barrister Ali Tijjani, pleaded for leniency, noting that his client was remorseful and had taken responsibility for his actions.

However, in an interview with Daily Trust shortly after the judgment, the embattled husband maintained his innocence, insisting that he never hit his wife with a pestle, as alleged.

“I didn’t hit her with a pestle,” he pleaded.

According to Tanko, the incident occurred following a heated argument early in the morning when his wife demanded money for detergent.

“Before I could even get up from the bed, she pulled off the cloth I used to cover myself and started abusing me, saying the bed didn’t belong to my father. I remained calm, thinking she was having a mood swing since she is still breastfeeding our baby,” he narrated.

He further alleged that his wife grabbed him by the neck and attempted to hit him with a wooden board, forcing him to push her away in self-defence.

“I only pushed her, and she fell on an open drawer and got injured. I didn’t hit her with any pestle. The injuries she sustained were presented before the court as if they were caused by a pestle,” he explained.

Tanko added that the chemist who treated his wife could testify that the injuries were not consistent with being struck by a pestle. He maintained that it was merely a domestic misunderstanding blown out of proportion.

“God knows I didn’t hit her with anything. It was just a simple marital misunderstanding between a husband and his wife,” he said. 

 

Family troubles and alleged interference

Tanko, who said his marriage was still young and had recently produced a baby, lamented that he had been facing persistent challenges, particularly interference from his mother-in-law, whom he accused of trying to destroy the union.

He claimed that despite their love for each other, there had been undue pressure from his wife’s family, which he believed was determined to ensure the marriage failed.

“All this while, her mother has been interfering negatively in our marriage. It’s clear she planned to end our relationship but didn’t succeed. She wanted to turn my wife against me, and what happened was part of her plot. I later discovered that after the incident, they came to my house and packed all my wife’s belongings,” he said.

Tanko also accused his wife’s family of taking food items from his house. “I bought a 50kg bag of rice, and within two weeks, they said it was finished. Imagine—only me and my wife, plus a baby of a few months. I also bought a mini truck of firewood for her traditional postnatal bath, and in two weeks, that too was gone. I’ve been doing my best to provide for my small family, but they’re making me suffer for no reason,” he said.

Tanko alleged that before the case reached court, his wife’s relatives—led by a popular social media influencer—reported the matter to the Gwale office of the Kano State Hisbah Board, after which he was arrested and handed over to the police.

“When I got there, three police officers pounced on me and dragged me inside the station, where I was detained for four days before being taken to court,” he recounted.

Despite what he described as humiliation and hardship, Tanko said he remained committed to his marriage.

“I still love my wife, and I am not ready to divorce her,” he said, adding that he appreciated the judge for handling the case fairly based on the evidence presented.

 

Wife’s response

When contacted, the wife, Maryam Umar, declined to comment on the case, saying the court had already delivered its judgment.

However, when asked about her husband’s claim that he still loves her and does not intend to end the marriage, she again refused to comment, saying she would speak after consulting her parents.