A Kaduna resident, Nasiru Idris, who has been sued for divorce by his Moroccan wife, Khadija Diab, has accused Islamic cleric, Ahmad Gumi, of abducting her.
However, Mrs Idris has denied her husband’s allegations, while the Islamic cleric is also suing him for defamation.
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Speaking in an interview with RFI Hausa on Friday, Mr Idris narrated how he and his wife met Mr Gumi at a pharmacy on Isa Kaita Road in Kaduna.
“My Moroccan wife knew no one in Nigeria, and nobody knew her except through me. I travelled to Morocco to seek her hand in marriage, and we were legally married with the approval of her parents and the Nigerian Embassy.”
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He said his marital problems began after Mr Gumi advised him to obtain an additional marriage certificate from a local Sharia court.
“Later, he went to the Sharia court in Malali and asked them to issue one,” Mr Idris alleged.
He further stated that Mr Gumi subsequently asked him to bring the woman over to his residence for counselling.
“From then on, whenever I called, she did not answer the phone,” he alleged.
“For 11 months now, my wife has been in his hands through injustice and ill-treatment.”
Gumi denies allegations
However, Mr Gumi denied the allegations. Speaking to Daily Trust, the cleric stated that the woman ran to his house for refuge with his wife who is also a Moroccan national from alleged domestic violence.
He said the woman subsequently filed a case against her husband in court.
Court filings
In the suit before the Upper Sharia Court on Daura Road, Kaduna, Mrs Idris is seeking the dissolution of her marriage over alleged domestic violence, financial abuse, and marital neglect.
The suit was instituted in June 2025 through the Women Aware of Rights Initiative (WARI), a non-profit legal advocacy organisation.
According to court documents obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, Mrs Idris stated that she fled her matrimonial home out of fear for her life and sought temporary shelter at the residence of Mr Gumi and his wife a Moroccan national.
She said the couple are her only known acquaintances in Nigeria besides her husband.
Mrs Idris alleged that shortly after their marriage, her husband subjected her to severe physical and emotional harm.
She further stated that he repeatedly engaged in unnatural and prohibited sexual acts (Haram), including demanding sexual intercourse during her menstrual cycles and attempting non-consensual anal intercourse with her.
She affirmed that the alleged actions caused her severe physical pain, emotional trauma, and spiritual distress.
In her statement of claim, Mrs Idris also alleged that her husband repeatedly infected her with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
She alleged that he refused to take her to a medical facility for treatment, opting instead to enforce unprescribed self-medication.
Mrs Idris also accused him of failing to provide adequate food and basic maintenance (Nafaqah), while subjecting her to persistent verbal abuse, intimidation, and maltreatment inside their home, rendering peaceful cohabitation impossible.
She further claimed that Mr Idris seized her dowry with a promise to return it in Nigeria, a promise he allegedly failed to keep.
She also accused him of premarital deception, claiming he induced her into marriage by concealing his true marital history and falsely asserting he had only been married once before.
Mrs Idris alleged that her husband confiscated her international passport, unlawfully restricting her freedom of movement and preventing her from visiting her family in Morocco an act she described as a breach of her fundamental human rights and dignity as a Muslim woman.
She claimed that the Islamic marital objectives of mutual love (Mawaddah), mercy (Rahmah), and tranquillity (Sakinah) have been destroyed.
Mrs Idris stated that continued cohabitation poses a grave risk to her physical and mental health.
She added that her husband reneged on premarital promises to allow her to work and pursue her education.
Reliefs sought
Mrs Idris is praying the Upper Sharia Court for: a decree dissolving the marriage (Faskh) on the grounds of denial of marital rights, failure to provide maintenance, cohabitation in a harmful manner, and forced engagement in prohibited sexual acts.
An order compelling Mr Idris to immediately return her international passport and personal belongings and restitution of all funds unlawfully withdrawn from her account via her bank card.
An order granting her full liberty to return to her native country, Morocco, and the restoration of her freedom, dignity, and fundamental rights as guaranteed under Sharia.
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Gumi’s response
Mr Gumi, in a trending video, accused Mr Idris of exploiting legal loopholes and leveraging personal connections with judges to delay judgement in the divorce suit filed in 2025, despite the severity of the allegations against him.
He said while the case was ongoing, Mr Idris instituted another case in a different court, where the judge allegedly addressed Mr Gumi as a criminal.
“I was summoned by the court alongside my son and four others for criminal conspiracy, but there is simply nothing criminal about our actions.”
The cleric alleged that the Islamic Sharia judge handling the case against him belong to a rival Islamic sect and acted out of bias to undermine his reputation.
He said public confidence in the Islamic judicial system has eroded to the point where the high court is now considered more trustworthy, arguing that Shariah courts are dragging their feet on the case against Mr Idris.
Mr Gumi further claimed that Mr Idris consistently lived beyond his means, falsified his financial standing, and fraudulently married a woman far above his social and economic capacity.
He said lawyers have taken advantage of Mr Idris, allegedly deceiving him and draining his financial resources through legal fees.
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