A mother of four children from Adamawa State, Mrs. Mercy Zhihwi Tizhe, has cried for help
in the enforcement of a two-year-old court judgment granting her custody of her children.
Mrs Mercy Tizhe, a staff of the Partnership for Learning for All in Nigeria (PLANE) project, said her former husband, Professor Caleb Fili of the Modibbo Adama University, Yola, has continued to defy the court ruling with the alleged complicity of court officials.
Addressing journalists in Yola with tears she recounted her decade-long legal battle for justice, which she said had left her emotionally drained, described it as “systemic injustice and deliberate delay of enforcement “.
She recalled that the “Upper Area Court Yola, under His Lordship Buba Abubakar, delivered judgment in my favour on 15th January 2024, granting me custody of my third and fourth daughters, while the first and second were allowed to choose where to stay”.
According to her, despite the clear pronouncement of the court, enforcement has remained elusive, even as I have visited the court several times, but nothing has been done.
My lawyer told me the judge refused to sign the enforcement order, but when I confronted the judge, he said he had already signed. Till today, that judgment has not been implemented, she lamented.
She accused her former husband of using his influence and connections to frustrate the process, claiming he boasted of having ties with senior members of the state judiciary.
She also alleged that her ex-husband left the country and kept their daughters under the care of his sister, denying the children parental affection, adding “for over twelve years, I’ve not been allowed access to my daughters, I went to their school and was turned away.
Tizhe further accused the Ministry of Justice of attempting to compel her to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that, according to her, sought to nullify the earlier existing court judgment and instead allow my children to only spend holidays with me .
She added that she had written to several authorities including the Chief Judge of Adamawa State, the Governor, the National Human Rights Commission, and the Attorney-General of the Federation, copied all relevant bodies, and they all acknowledged receipt, yet no action has been taken.
She also recounted that after the federal Ministry of Justice in Abuja intervened, she was invited to Adamawa for a resolution meeting but could not attend initially due to a fracture she sustained in an accident.
“When I finally came down, I met with the Director of Citizens Engagement at the State Ministry of Justice. My ex-husband also came with three of my daughters. The girls were willing to go with me, but I was told to sign an MoU setting aside the judgment. I refused,” she stated.
Her ordeal took another turn when, according to her, the new presiding judge of the Upper Area Court I, declined to enforce the judgment despite her formal application filed earlier in November insisting I must sign the MOU to vacate the earlier judgement which I refused.
”The judge told me plainly that the case would not be enforced. He said it’s not what I want that will be done, but what he wants,” she alleged.
Tizhe, appealed for the intervention of the Attorney-General of the Federation, the National Human Rights Commission, and civil society organizations to ensure that justice is done.
“The ordeal had taken a toll on my health, family, and professional responsibilities, this is not just about me, it’s about every woman who has been silenced by a system that fails to protect her rights”, she sheded tears.
Mrs. Tizhe urged President Bola Tinubu’s administration to pay closer attention to the plight of women and children in similar situations, stressing that “the failure to enforce judgments undermines public confidence in the judiciary.”
When reached for his comment on the matter, Prof Caleb Fili said he is constrained to speak on the matter as the case is still in court.
