Abuja spinster Khadija Ibrahim drags her dad to court for refusing to allow her get married

ABUJA spinster Khadija Ibrahim has dragged her father Bassa to court for breaching her fundamental human rights by not allowing her to marry a man of her choice after he constantly refused to meet with her chosen suitor.

Ms Ibrahim, 23, dragged her father before the an Upper Area Court in Karu, in the Federal Capital Territory, claiming that she had a suitor, who was willing to marry her but her dad refused to give his consent. She pleaded with the court to order her father to allow her to get married to the suitor, whose name she gave as Abdulhamidu.

“The man I want to marry has made several attempts to meet my father to discuss the wedding plan but he always avoided him. The only reason he gave me was that the man I want to marry is not Fulani, which is not satisfactory to me,” Khadija said.

Bassa Ibrahim told the court that the allegations made by his daughter were true, pointing out that he objected to her choice of Abdulhamidu. He claimed he was opposed to the marriage based on his need to protect his daughter.

“I have always avoided Abdulhamidu because I am against his choice as a suitor. I have warned my daughter that marriage is not a child’s play. How can she get married to a man whose root and origin are not known to us?” Mr Ibrahim added.

Judge Abdullahi Baba adjourned the matter till May 29. In what would be the first such case of its kind in Nigeria, it will be up to the court to determine whether a father's consent is considered a legal prerequisite for marriage.