Teenage girl sues dad over refusal to give marriage consent

A teenage girl, Halima Yunusa, on Monday, dragged her father before a Sharia court sitting in Magajin Gari, Kaduna State, for refusing to get her married to her lover, Bashir Yusuf. Halima, who lives in Kasuwan Magani, Chikun Local Government Area of the State, told the court that she was in love with Yusuf but […]

A teenage girl, Halima Yunusa, on Monday, dragged her father before a Sharia court sitting in Magajin Gari, Kaduna State, for refusing to get her married to her lover, Bashir Yusuf.

Halima, who lives in Kasuwan Magani, Chikun Local Government Area of the State, told the court that she was in love with Yusuf but that her parents were not letting them get married.

The teenager’s father, Ibrahim, a businessman, however, told the court that he was aware of the “extreme love” between his daughter and Yusuf, but that Yusuf was yet to fulfill all known marriage rites.

He said, “He came to me and expressed his desire to marry my daughter. I told him to come back with his parents and family members. He came back after a year and took my daughter and ran away with her for three days. We later heard they came back and went to my sister’s house. We informed the police and both of them were arrested and disciplined.”

After their release from police custody, he said they ran away again to Abuja where they spent two weeks.

He added that, “But when I finally met with the boy’s father and had several discussions, he said he would not allow his son to marry my daughter.

“At last the boyfriend’s father later took us to the district head of our village where an agreement was drafted and signed by all of us and our witnesses to caution my daughter to stay away from his son.”

Yusuf told the court he loves Yunusa.

The Khadi, Murtala Nasir, after listening to the parties, held that Yusuf’s father should be advised to allow the children get married.

He said, “If he refuses, we will get them married in the court even without his blessing.”

He instructed the complainant to seek her parents and relatives’ forgiveness in order to have their blessings in her life and adjourned the case to May 23 for Yusuf’s father to appear before the court for final judgment. (NAN)