Halima Yusuf has asked an Upper Area Court in Mararaba, Nasarawa State, to confirm her divorce from her husband, Isah, while telling the judge she is eight months pregnant. The housewife said she wants the court to compel him to take responsibility for the pregnancy.
Yusuf’s petition puts a private marital dispute before a public court at a moment when she says she has nowhere else to turn. She told the court she has been living with her parents in Mararaba and that the marriage, which she said was conducted under Sharia Islamic law, has left her without support.
In her account to the court, Yusuf accused Isah of beating her and neglecting his responsibilities. She said he does not provide food, clothing or healthcare for her, a complaint that goes beyond the breakup itself and into the basic obligations she says have been ignored. Her request is not only for confirmation of the divorce but also for an order compelling him to take responsibility for her pregnancy.
That combination makes the case more than a routine divorce filing. Yusuf is asking the court to end the marriage on paper while also requiring her husband to answer for what comes after it, with her pregnancy still ongoing and the dispute still unresolved. It echoes the sort of messy personal breakups that have spilled into public view in other high-profile divorce fights, including the kind of speculation that once trailed the Chike Pity My Soul saga and false reports around Tony O. Elumelu.
Judge Mohammed Yakubu adjourned the matter until June 11 for hearing. That is the next point that matters: whether the court will confirm the divorce and how it will handle Yusuf’s request that Isah be made responsible for the pregnancy she says she is carrying.
