The Sharia Court 1 sitting at Kofar Kudu in Municipal Local Government Area of Kano State has sentenced Ali Abdulrahman Tanko to six months of community service, during which he will sweep a mosque three times a week.
Tanko was also ordered to pay N10,000 to cover his wife’s medical bills and receive 10 strokes of the cane after assaulting her for demanding money to buy detergent to wash the family’s clothes.
However, Tanko told the court he still loves his wife, Maryam Umar, and does not want their marriage dissolved.
The presiding judge, Shamsuddeen Ado Abdullahi Unguwar Gini, heard that the argument escalated after Tanko refused to provide the money, leading to the wife sustaining several injuries.
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According to Daily Trust, Tanko was convicted of using excessive force and committing battery, offences punishable under the Sharia Penal Code.
In his ruling, the judge affirmed the sentence, directing that Tanko perform the community service, pay the N10,000 medical bill, and receive the prescribed corporal punishment.
Earlier, the defendant’s counsel, Barrister Ali Tijjani, pleaded for leniency, noting that his client was remorseful and had taken responsibility for his actions.
However, in an interview with Daily Trust shortly after the judgment, the embattled husband maintained his innocence, insisting that he never hit his wife with a pestle, as alleged.
“I didn’t hit her with a pestle,” he pleaded.
According to Tanko, the incident occurred following a heated argument early in the morning when his wife demanded money for detergent.
“Before I could even get up from the bed, she pulled off the cloth I used to cover myself and started abusing me, saying the bed didn’t belong to my father. I remained calm, thinking she was having a mood swing since she is still breastfeeding our baby,” he narrated.
He further alleged that his wife grabbed him by the neck and attempted to hit him with a wooden board, forcing him to push her away in self-defence.
“I only pushed her, and she fell on an open drawer and got injured. I didn’t hit her with any pestle. The injuries she sustained were presented before the court as if they were caused by a pestle,” he explained.
Tanko added that the chemist who treated his wife could testify that the injuries were not consistent with being struck by a pestle. He maintained that it was merely a domestic misunderstanding blown out of proportion.
“God knows I didn’t hit her with anything. It was just a simple marital misunderstanding between a husband and his wife,” he said.
