General
Source: Vanguard
A woman, Sadiyya Shuaibu, on Wednesday urged a Kaduna Sharia Court II to compel her husband Muhammad Aliyu to accept the paternity of their two-month old son.
Sadiyya sued Aliyu, praying it to compel him to take full responsibility of their son to avoid destroying the boy's future as a child born out of wedlock.
According to her, as a faithful wife, her husband cannot prove any allegation of infidelity against her, which could have caused the rejection of the child as his son.
The plaintiff told the court that Aliyu of Tudun Ilu, was denying the paternity of the boy, Mubarak, and sent them out of his matrimonial home.
She said that all her pleas and that of her parents to accept the baby proved abortive, adding that her husband's action forced her to seek redress in court.
"I am praying this court to compel Aliyu to accept the responsibility of fathering the child and catering for him.
"I also want the court to compel him to take full responsibility of the child in order to avoid destroying the boy's future as a child born out of wedlock."
Aliyu, in his argument, denied paternity of the baby, saying: "I cannot accept the boy's responsibility as a father."
He alleged that Sadiyya started attending ante natal care barely two months into their marriage on the pretext that it was important to begin at the early stage of pregnancy.
Aliyu said that Sadiyya put to bed five months after the marriage, meaning that "she is already pregnant before we got married ".
The defendant said that after the delivery, he interrogated her, stressing that she confessed that she was impregnated by an undisclosed person before their marriage.
He further claimed that the plaintiff apologised for the embarrassment.
Aliyu added that his father-in-law, Malam Muhammad Shuaibu, also confirmed to him that after interrogating his daughter, he found out that Aliyu was not responsible for the pregnancy.
Aliyu claimed that Shuaibu also apologised and pleaded that the defendant should forgo all the wedding expenses he incurred.
He explained that he divorced her because "I found it difficult to continue living with Sadiyya as a wife, that is why I refused her entreaties as a husband".
Aliyu pledged to produce a witness to confirm what transpired between him and his former father-in-law over the matter.
Meanwhile, Sadiyya's father denied Aliyu's claim of interrogating his daughter, over the source of her pregnancy.
Shuaibu said he only pleaded with him not to divorce the girl until proper investigation was carried out.
"But he told me that he has already divorced the girl."
The Khadi, Ibrahim Inuwa, said that the since the couple were making counter claims, the court would look at it critically before making any pronouncement.
Inuwa said the issue of paternity must be proved beyond reasonable doubt before the court could decide whether the child was born in or out of wedlock.
He adjourned the matter to Dec. 6, and ordered them to produce their witnesses on the day.