My husband abandoned me, our children for 4yrs —Wife

An Area Court sitting in Ilorin, Kwara State, dissolved the 26-year-old Islamic marriage between Muslimat Zakariyyau and Mumini Sadeeq.

The presiding judge, Idris Etsu, ruled that the dissolution followed Mumini’s letter accepting the divorce application by his wife, Muslimat.

Etsu said Muslimat should observe the three-month Iddah (waiting period) according to Islamic rites.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the court stated that the first and second children, ages 25 and 18 respectively, have the right, being adults, to choose where they want to stay.

The court, however, granted the wife custody of the third and fourth children, ages 16 and 13, respectively.

Muslimat had earlier told the court that her husband left the house four years ago, neglecting his responsibility of caring for her and the children.

“I have been living for four years with the children and catering for their needs without their father caring about our sustenance.

“It was just after his mother’s death that he called me to come back home with the children.

“I am no longer interested in the marriage and I don’t want him to give me anything for maintenance and feeding because we have been surviving for four years without him,” she said.

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