Speaking in an exclusive telephone interview with SaharaReporters, Maryam narrated a disturbing chain of events which she said began after an innocent encounter between her younger brother and one of Mu’awiyya’s associates.
Maryam, a young woman from Talata Mafara in Zamfara State, has accused a close ally of the Emir of her hometown, identified as Alhaji Mu’awiyya Dan Sakai, of forcing her into exile after she rejected his marriage proposal, and of repeatedly using his influence to harass, arrest, and detain her mother.
Speaking in an exclusive telephone interview with SaharaReporters, Maryam narrated a disturbing chain of events which she said began after an innocent encounter between her younger brother and one of Mu’awiyya’s associates.
“My younger brother had burnt his hand and was taken to a chemist for treatment. One of my uncle’s friends — one of Mu’awiyya’s boys — brought him home. Later, he told Mu’awiyya he had found the kind of wife he wanted. They took my pictures from my uncle’s wife’s phone, showed them to Mu’awiyya, and began planning a marriage without my consent,” she recounted.
Maryam said her mother initially made it clear she would only support the marriage if her daughter agreed, but her refusal was met with hostility.
According to her, Mu’awiyya and some members of her extended family cut off contact with her mother and began plotting to force the union.
She alleged that her uncle, Sani Dingai, pretended to be on her side but later collaborated with Mu’awiyya to force her into marriage.
“They took me to Sokoto under the pretence of staying with my father’s brother, but I met Mu’awiyya there with clothes and money, ready to ‘finalise’ things. I called my mother immediately and returned home,” she said.
Maryam told SaharaReporters that during the fasting period, her preferred suitor’s family visited her with gifts. The very next night, her relatives — including her uncles— allegedly went to the Emir’s Palace and conducted a marriage ceremony between her and Mu’awiyya without her presence, without her consent, and her mother or rightful family witnesses.
“They married me off at night, in my absence. The person who gave birth to my father is still alive, and I have brothers, but they sidelined all of them,” she said.
The following day, Maryam alleged, Mu’awiyya filed a false case in court claiming she had abandoned her “husband” to marry another man. Shockingly, the court allegedly sent her mother to prison over the claims.
Although Mu’awiyya later came to “apologise” and claimed he had withdrawn from the matter, Maryam said he continued to spread lies that her mother had approved the marriage.
This, she said, caused her first suitor to pull out due to the legal complications.
Maryam eventually met and married another man, but the night before their wedding, she said a court letter arrived, again claiming she was attempting to remarry while already married to Mu’awiyya.
Despite explaining that no valid marriage had taken place, threats continued.
She narrated: “Later, I met another man, and we developed mutual love. We fixed our wedding date, but a day before the wedding, a court letter arrived stating that Mu’awiyya claimed I was attempting to marry while already in another marriage, and that we should not proceed.
“We explained that no marriage had ever taken place, and my witness can confirm and approve my marriage. The so-called ‘marriage’ they claim happened was arranged without my consent and without my mother’s knowledge. The following day, we got married.
“Later, they began threatening me with a court case, claiming I married while still in another marriage. They said I must leave the marriage or face arrest. After the wedding, I travelled abroad.
“Now, they are threatening my mother, saying that unless I return home, she will be arrested. She was already arrested once and remanded in prison pending the trial for a crime she never committed.”
Maryam added that efforts to appeal the court’s earlier ruling have been frustrated as the court allegedly refuses to release a copy of the judgment.
She accused Mu’awiyya of using his wealth to influence her uncles and court officials, while weaponising the legal system against her family.
“We want to appeal the case, but the court has refused to give us a copy of the judgment,” she said.
”I am appealing to the Zamfara State Government and the Nigerian Government to intervene in this matter. They have been threatening my mother daily, saying they will arrest her, even though some people secretly married off her daughter without the daughter’s consent.
“Mu’awiyya is using his money to threaten my mother, despite having had her remanded in prison before. He is also using his wealth to influence my uncles. We need justice, and the world must know the evil they have committed against us,” she stated.
