Man arrested for divorcing friend’s wife

Karibullah Yahaya Lawan, a resident of Kabara ward in Kano city has been remanded in police custody for allegedly divorcing his friend’s wife without his consent.

The accused was said to have divorced the wife of Musa Dahiru, a resident of Kura town via a text message.

The complainant, Dahiru told Shahuchi Upper Sharia Court that he was in Lagos on December 11, 2018 when his wife called him to acknowledge the receipt of a message informing her that he had divorced her.

He told the court that he denied ever sending the message and when he traced the phone number he found that it belonged to his friend Kariballah Yahaya Lawan.

Dahiru said, thereafter he called Lawan who admitted that he sent the message in question to his wife.

However, after some days Lawan and some police officers visited the plaintiff and intimidated him to withdraw the allegation, Dahiru added.

The defendant, however, denied the charge when the charge sheet was read to him in court by Prosecuting Officer, Auwalu Ibrahim.

He said his friend was using the allegation to smear his name after falling out with him over a financial issue.

Lawan told the court that both of them work for an organisation called Human Rights Watch of Nigeria, which appointed Dahiru to set up its office in Kura town, Kura Local Government Area of Kano state.

He said instead of setting up the office, Dahiru misappropriated the money.

“I called the plaintiff on phone but his wife picked up the phone and told me that he was not in town but she promised to inform him of my call when he return.

“I was shocked when Dahiru called me later accusing me of divorcing his wife. When I heard about his accusation, I personally reported the case to Kura police station for resolution,” he said.

At yesterday’s sitting, the Presiding Judge, Malam Hadi Tijjani, adjourned the case to January 28 and ordered police to conduct thorough investigation with a view to unveiling a true picture of the matter.