From: Ali Abare, Gombe
A 24-year-old girl, Zuwaira Mohammed, has petitioned GOmbe State Commissioner of Police over attempts to forcefully marry her to a 60-year old Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), Sani Uba Paiko.
Zuwaira is seeking for the Gombe CP to, among other prayers, stop CSP Paiko from threatening or intimidating her following her refusal to accept his marriage proposal.
In a petition a copy of which was made available to Daily Sun, on Tuesday, Zuwaira said the police officer violated her fundamental human rights after he subjected her to inhuman treatment when he physically assaulted and beat her for refusing to marry him.
Narrating her ordeal after she ran away from home to avoid being forcefully married to CSP Paiko, Zuwaira disclosed that for refusing to accept his marriage proposal, the police officer locked her up in a cell for several hours, breaching her fundamental right to liberty.
Part of the petition signed by Ladan Babakodong, senior partner, Tugarang chambers Gombe and counsel to Zuwaira reads:
“Sometime in 2015, our client met one Sani Umar Paiko, a Chief Superintendent of Police and Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Billiri town, currently serving in Lagos (hereinafter called ‘the purported suitor’). The petitioner and the purported suitor became friends. When the purported suitor proposed marriage, the petitioner rejected the proposal outright and made that clear in no uncertain terms. “However, the purported suitor would have none of that. Consequently, he beat, and threw the petitioner in police cell twice for over 15 hours in each case. When this failed to yield the result he wanted, he cajoled and threatened the petitioner both verbally and through text messages.
“Despite the petitioner’s refusal but in pursuance of his desire to marry the petitioner, the purported suitor convinced the petitioner’s parents and, without the consent of the petitioner, paid dowry to her parents and fixed a wedding date. They were to be married under Islamic injunction.
“On learning of this subterfuge, the petitioner ran away into hiding to avoid being forced into marriage not only to a man who is about her grandfather (the purported suitor is about 60 years old), but someone of a different faith from hers. It was from such a hiding place that the Petitioner briefed us to write and submit this petition for and on her behalf”.
In the petition copied to the Inspector-General of Police as well as the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 3 Yola, Zuwaira is also seeking for relevant authorities, to “Inform the petitioner’s parents that the petitioner, being a major, should be allowed by her parents to exercise her right to choose when and who to marry. The petitioner reiterates her love and reverence to her parents at all times and is not, by this prayer, being in any way insolent or disrespectful to them at all”.