Abdullahi Muhammad’s world was shattered when his young daughter, Wasilah Abdullahi, was allegedly beaten to death by her husband, Nuru Isah, over Ramadan food.
Abdullahi opened up about his unbearable grief and haunting regrets over his daughter’s tragic death.
In an interview with Umar Sani, he expressed his regrets for encouraging Wasilah to continue in her marriage even when she said she wanted a divorce.
Abdullahi said “He had three wives, including my daughter. Wasilah was his second wife among the three. She had been married to her husband, Nuru, for 10 years. So, it has been a long time since they got married. Wasilah left behind three children: a boy and two girls. These children are now without their mother as a result of the unfortunate incident. It is very tragic.
“Wasilah was very humble and was patient with this man. I swear, she was patient with him. The reason I am saying that she was patient with him was that before her death, she came back home and said she was never going back.
“She insisted that she was not going back and demanded that they should be divorced. But I consoled and encouraged her to see reason and go back. Since she went back, there was no peace in the house. One fateful night, we got a message that Wasilah had died,
When asked if Wasilah and her husband had any prior disagreement before tragic incident, he responded stating the couple repeatedly had disagreements but he did not pay too much attention as disagreements are common in marriages. He added that Nuru had never hit Wasilah before.
He said “Yes. It is always so with every other marriage. They had repeatedly had issues. In fact, because of their repeated problems, her mother complained and said she was tired of our daughter and her husband’s troubles. That was before Wasilah’s mother died,
Even the last time they had an issue – a week before her death – when she came back home, her mother insisted that she shouldn’t go back. But we encouraged her to go back to her matrimonial home. However, her husband had never beaten her until the last time, which led to her death.”
He revealed that Wasilah’s cowife had called to inform them about the tragic incident. He explained that his Wasilah was heathy only to have been reported dead.
“We were informed by her co-wife that their husband brought home a watermelon that the family would use to break their Ramadan fast. It was over that watermelon that the fight erupted. After that, I have not been able to conclude whether my daughter’s husband beat her or not. But for a woman who was healthy and alive to have been reported dead, and was said to have vomited blood before she died, she must have been beaten. Even her co-wife, who lived with her in the same house, confirmed that he had beaten her”,
Regarding food, it was common and always the reason for their quarrels. He used to be discriminatory or biased in allotting food to his wives. When he brought any food, it was he and the last wife (his amarya) who always had the biggest share” he stated.
He disclosed that the police had taken the suspect, his son-in-law into custody.
“When we heard of her death through her brother, Ibrahim, we felt very sad. Then Ibrahim and her mother went to the house. A group of mobile policemen were also reported to have gone to the house and arrested my late daughter’s husband. He was with the police when we buried her” he explained.
“After the man beat her, she was taken to a nearby pharmacy by the husband’s friend. She was treated and given some medication, after which she returned home.
According to what we were told, after she returned from the pharmacy to her friend’s house, which was close to her husband’s, she took a bath and ate food. Then she returned to her husband’s house. There, she observed her pending Sallah (prayers) and rested on her bed,
It was later on, when she tried to stand up, that she collapsed – all in the same night. From there, she was rushed to the hospital, where it was discovered that she had a wound on her forehead and by the side of her rib. These injuries were from the beating. She was later confirmed dead.”
Abdullahi appealed to the government to aid them in getting justice for Wasilah.
“Our only demand from the government and authorities is that we want justice to be served. We are pleading with the government and anyone capable of ensuring that justice is served because, even if we forgive him, she (the late Wasilah) will not forgive him.
In fact, we will also not forgive him because we were wronged. We are already aware that he is with the Police CID. So, we want him to face the consequences of his actions.”
