A middle-aged housewife, Umma Bashir, on Tuesday dragged her husband, Ibrahim Bashir, to a Sharia Sourt II at Magajin Gari, Kaduna State for renting out her bedroom without her knowledge.
The complainant told the court that her husband had provided two rooms for her and her two children but decided to rent out the bedroom without her consent.
She said “I returned home from an errand, only to see my bedroom locked and belongings moved to the sitting room.
“When I confronted my husband, he told me that it was his room and that he had the right to do whatever he wished with it.”
Umma, who had left for her parents’ house for five days, told the court that she won’t return to her matrimonial home until her husband provides good shelter for her.
She also disclosed that her two co-wives were living in a two-bedroom apartment each with their children but she was left with one room to manage.
The defendant agreed that he truly rented out the room, but denied his wife’s claim of not being informed prior to it.
He said, “I informed her that I would rent out one of the rooms, to enable me to renovate an apartment I was planning to relocate her to.”
Ibrahim added that he promised his wife that he would use the money collected from the tenant to renovate the proposed apartment.
The Judge, Malam Musa Sa’ad, after listening to both parties, emphasised the importance of shelter in marriage.
He said it was the responsibility of the husband to provide shelter for his family, stressing that “in Islam, it is wrong for husband and wife to live in one room with two teenagers.”
The judge adjourned the case until April 18 for the court to be able to inspect the house and assess its condition.
