Court orders woman to breastfeed baby for 20 months to stave off dowry refund

A Sharia Court sitting at Rigasa, Kaduna, on Monday ordered one Bilkisu Abdullahi, a nursing mother, to breastfeed her two-month- old daughter for 20 months in order to stave off the return of dowry she collected from her estranged husband.

The Judge, Malam Salisu Abubakar-Tureta, made the ruling after Bilkisu prayed the court to dissolve her marriage to Abdullahi Adamu through Khul’I, otherwise known as redemption.

Khul’i is a form of divorce where a wife returns the dowry she collected from the husband.

The complainant, who was represented by her counsel Sagir Salisu, told the court that she received N80,000 as dowry from the defendant but wants to breastfeed their daughter for 20 months in place of that money.

The defendant was not in court and did not send any representative or letter to state the reasons for his absence after being served personally.

The judge said that the court would proceed with the hearing in accordance with Order 9, Rule 3 of the Shari’a Civil Procedure Rules.

“I hereby dissolve the union between Abdullahi Adamu and Bilkisu Adamu through Khul’I and she will breastfeed her daughter for 20 months.

“Anyone who is not okay with the ruling can appeal to the Upper Shari’a Court within 30 days“, the judge ruled. (NAN)