The Bauchi State Commissioner for Water Resources, Nuhu Zaki, has denied allegations of abducting his 10-year-old biological daughter, identified as Zainab.
Zaki is embroiled in a custody battle with Zainab’s maternal grandmother, Ikilima Manu Soro.
But the Commissioner insisted that he was only enforcing court judgments granting him custody of his daughter.
Reacting to a petition filed to the Inspector General of Police, IGP, the Commissioner for Water Resources questioned how a father could be accused of abducting his own legitimate child, over whom he holds both religious and constitutional rights.
Speaking in an interview with journalists at his residence in Bauchi on Saturday, Zaki explained that Zainab had been living with her grandmother following his divorce from her mother.
According to him, after Zainab’s mother remarried, the young girl expressed a desire to live with her father.
Zaki said further that his other children also pleaded on her behalf, emphasizing her longing to be with her biological family.
Zaki recounted that his marriage to Zainab’s mother was conducted under Islamic law but eventually broke down due to irreconcilable differences with her family.
“It was not my intention to divorce my wife because we loved each other, but pressure from her family, especially her two brothers and their mother, made it impossible to continue, forcing her to leave,” he said.
The Commissioner commended the efforts of the late Manu Soro, Zainab’s grandfather, and other family members who tried to reconcile the couple, even after their first divorce.
However, he claimed that persistent opposition from certain family members frustrated these efforts.
Zaki alleged that despite securing favorable judgments from three different courts, he was repeatedly denied access to his daughter.
“Now that her mother is remarried and my daughter is no longer comfortable staying with her maternal grandmother, she chose to live with me and her siblings.
What’s wrong with that? They’re making unnecessary trouble for no just cause,” he stated.
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