A Nassarawa Gwong, Jos, area court in Plateau State, on Wednesday, dissolved a seven-year-old marriage between Sumaiya Muhammad and Bala Usman on grounds of desertion.
The judge, Mr Ishaq Danjuma, in granting the request made by Sumaiya, said all efforts to reconcile the parties failed.
The judge ordered Sumaiya to refund N50,000 to the respondent, being the dowry he paid by way of Khul’l (dissolution of the marriage bond at the instance of the wife) according to Islamic law and procedure.
Mr Danjuma further granted the petitioner custody of their children, but said the respondent was allowed to visit the children at appropriate times of the day without any hindrance.
Earlier, Sumaiya pleaded with the court to dissolve her marriage, saying that her husband deserted her when she was ill at her parents’ house, and also accused him of failure to provide for his family for the three years she was ill.