I want divorce because Imam said my wife is evil, man tells court

A 38-year-old man, Jumoh Lukman, on Wednesday begged an Upper Area Court in Mararaba, Nasarawa State, to dissolve his marriage to his wife, Mufliat, because his Imam indentified her as the cause of his problems.

Mr. Lukman, who married Mufliat seven years ago and had three children, told the court that his predicament started since 2013.

He said that in quest to finding solution to his problems, he consulted the Chief Imam of Karu Central Mosque.

“After series of prayers, the Imam pointed at my wife and told me that she is the cause of all the problems I’m facing.

“He said that my wife was possess with some demons and will therefore need cleansing,” Mr. Lukman told the court.

He said that both parents agreed that his wife should stay with his mother in the village, Ijebu Ode, until the ritual was concluded, adding the plan failed because his father-in-law went with thugs to threaten his father.

He said he left his home for a rented apartment as he could no longer stay in the same house with the respondent.

He said, “I left the house which I built since August 2016 because I was not having peace and could not stay with the person that is behind my problems.”

The respondent, a native of Ofa, Kwara, alleged that the person her husband took her to for prayers was not an Imam but a herbalist.

“I am a devoted Muslim and we were married in the Islamic law and custom; so I should be able to differentiate between Imam and a herbalist.

“The place he took me to was not a mosque neither the person an Imam, because I have never seen where an Imam tells you to off your cloths and birds talking.

“I cannot be the source of my husband’s problems because when he married me in 2010, he built house, bought car, his business expanded until the 2013,” she said.

She accused the petitioner of alliance with thieves that burgled her shop and house stealing just her things alone.

Mr. Lukman begged the court to grant his request, saying that he could no longer marry him.

The judge, Ibrahim Shekarau, adjourned the case for further hearing.