A divorced mother of two, Hafsat Yusuf, has taken her former husband, Muhammad Ahmad, before a Shari’a Court in Magajin Gari, Kaduna, seeking help over unpaid maintenance and money she allegedly spent on their children.

Hafsat told the court, through her lawyer, I.M. Umar, that she and Ahmad were married in 2017 and had two children, now aged eight and five, before their marriage ended in divorce in 2025.

According to Umar, Hafsat had since been shouldering much of the responsibility for the children, including paying their school fees. He told the court that she recently paid N200,500 for the children’s school fees for an entire session.

The lawyer argued that the responsibility for the children’s upkeep rested primarily with their father and urged the court to order Ahmad to reimburse his former wife for the school fees she had paid.

He also asked the court to compel Ahmad to take responsibility for the children’s education, medical care, feeding and general welfare, as well as pay N150,000 monthly as maintenance.

The dispute, however, goes beyond the children’s upkeep.

Hafsat also asked the court to grant her access to Ahmad’s home to retrieve her LG refrigerator and a gold necklace allegedly weighing three grammes.

In his defence, Ahmad disputed the amount his former wife claimed to have spent on the children’s school fees. He said he had already sent her N100,000 towards their first-term fees and requested proof of the N200,500 payment she claimed to have made.

Ahmad also told the court that he had been giving Hafsat N30,000 monthly and was prepared to continue with the same amount.

“I will return her fridge to her, but I don’t know anything regarding her gold necklace. I want proof of the amount she paid for their school fees,” he said.

The case has consequently become a dispute not only over money, but also over how divorced parents should continue to share responsibility for the welfare of their children.

The Judge, Malam Yakubu Abdullahi, adjourned the case until September 2 for Hafsat to produce her witnesses and present evidence of the school-fee payment.

The court’s intervention is expected to determine the parties’ respective financial obligations towards the children, as well as resolve the claims over Hafsat’s belongings.

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