Mansur Namadi Kaura v. Haulatu Habibu Kaura (2023)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

MUHAMMED LAWAL SHUAIBU, JCA (Delivering the leading judgment)

This is an appeal against the judgment of the Zamfara State Sharia Court of Appeal sitting at Gusau delivered on 7th March, 2022 in suit No: SCA/KN/15/2021 affirming the judgment of Upper Sharia Court Kauran Namoda granting the claim of Kaua’i to the respondent.

The respondent as plaintiff at the upper Sharia Court, Kaura Namoda sued the defendant/appellant being her husband at then, seeking for the dissolution of her marriage with him for the following reasons:

I. That the defendant was beating her.

II. That he accused her of adultery.

III. That he threw away her personal belongings from her room, and

IV. Other abuses and defamation of character which forced her out of the matrimonial home for almost two years, seven months.

It was on the above reasons that she sought for the dissolution of her marriage with the defendant/appellant. The trial court granted her divorced based on khul’i. Being dissatisfied with the judgment of the trial court on the aspect of khul’i, he appealed to the lower court which affirmed the decision of the trial court.

Still dissatisfied, appellant filed the instant appeal through a notice of appeal filed on 14/03/2022 containing four grounds of appeal at pages 80-87 of the record of appeal.

In the appellant’s brief of argument filed on 8/7/2022, learned counsel A. A. Jibril Esq., formulated three issues for determination as follows:

(1) Whether the lower court was right to have affirmed the judgment of the trial court which was not supported by any evidence nor in accordance with Islamic Law and procedure.

(2) Whether the lower court was right to have affirmed the judgment of the trial court which was given in breach of the appellant’s right to fair hearing

(3) Whether the lower court was right to have affirmed the judgment of the trial court which clearly shows evidence of bias and errors on the part of the trial court.

Learned counsel for the respondent, F. M. Mada Esq., in the respondent’s brief filed on 20/1/2023 adopts all the three issue formulated by the appellant.