Seven months after series of legal battles, the 20-year old duo of Hadiza Musa and Fatima Salisu have secured a divorce from their husband, 30-year old Samaila Musa who chained them for two years and 10 months respectively at Rimi Local Government Area of Katsina State, North-West Nigeria.
The dissolution of the marriage by the Upper Shari’a Court was necessitated after the testimonies of 11 eyewitnesses led in evidence by the plaintiff’s lawyer Hamisu Lawal.
For 20-year old Fatima Salisu, the divorce obtained can be described as a long walk to freedom which will make herself and her former mate, Hadiza Musa, better persons going forward.
According to her, she was married as a second wife for only 10 weeks and chained two days after arriving at the house while Hadiza, was chained for two years equating the torture and inhumane treatment meted on them to about 10 years.
Although she is willing to remarry again, the fear of falling into the wrong hand is her major worry, as she advised single ladies to investigate well before finally tying the knot.
A trustee of the civil society organisation, We Girls Development Foundation, Rabi Muhammed, who facilitated their marriage dissolution and brought the case to the public domain, described it as justice well deserved.
She added that the Foundation has gone ahead to enroll the duo into vocational training classes with a view to helping them acquire skills for self-reliance pending when they will remarry.
Their counsel, Hamisu Lawal, said they plan to file another case to claim damages for the ladies while the defendant Samaila Musa has been remanded in prison custody as a result of a criminal case filed against him by the police.
For Fatima, she hopes to become a gender activist who will fight for women’s rights as done by the trustee of the We Girls Development Foundation in the nearest future.
