Grandmother, son-in-law battle over child custody

A grandmother, Hauwa Dauda, is locked in battle with her son-in-law, Abdulhameed Abdullahi, over the custody of her three-year-old grandchild whose mother had re-married.
The woman has gone to the Sharia Court II, Magajin Gari, Kaduna, asking it to grant her custody of the child in line with the provisions of the law.
Her lawyer, Kabir Alhassan told the court that: “My client wants the court to grant her custody of her grandchild as stipulated in the Shari’a law and compel the father to take full responsibility of the child.”
The complainant is also asking the court to order Abdullahi to pay N5,000 monthly as feeding allowance for the child.
However, Abdullahi informed the court that the case had been decided by another court that granted him custody of the child.
He said that the Shari’a Court at Bashama in Tudun Wada area of Kaduna granted him the custody of his son after his ex-wife remarried.
Abdullahi presented documents from the earlier court that granted the order to back his assertion.
Abdullahi explained that the child was under the care of his former wife after they divorced but was returned to him after she remarried.
“My mother-in-law dropped my son at my mother’s residence saying she could no longer take care of him as her husband doesn’t support her,” he told the court.
Counsel to the complainant, however, denied Abdullahi’s claim describing it as “mere hearsay’’ as he was not around when the child was returned.
He added that the grandmother returned the child due to illness, saying that she only sought for the medication of her grandchild.
“My client did not dump the child as the defendant claimed rather, she returned him to his maternal grandmother to receive treatment as he was ill,” he stressed.
The lawyer urged the court to disregard the documents presented by the defendant, saying it was based on a different case.
“The document he presented was a resolution of a case between him and his former wife while this case is between him and his child’s grandmother,” he argued.
On his part, the son-in-law prayed the court to investigate the matter thoroughly so as to arrive at the truth.
The Judge, Malam Musa Sa’ad, adjourned the case to April 9, for the court to critically examine and investigate the matter.