Risikat Azeez, the blue-eyed woman who gained national attention after she was allegedly abandoned by the father of her children Wasiu Jimoh has formally married the man.
The Nikah (Muslim wedding) ceremony was conducted on Saturday in Ilorin, Kwara State.
The couple’s families, friends, neighbours and several Islamic clerics witnessed the ceremony.
As it is common in Yoruba weddings, the husband’s family brought money and items like yam, salt, clothes and drinks for the wife’s family.
It is a remarkable chapter for the woman who claimed in her first video interview that she and her children were abandoned by Wasiu because they had blue irises.
The man denied the allegation, claiming his wife’s family prevailed upon her to leave him because he was financially impotent.
Risikat’s tale caught the attention of Nigerians at home and beyond, with many volunteering to help her and the children.
The biggest intervention came from wife of the Kwara State governor Olufolake AbdulRazaq.
Risikat and her husband met during a meeting in Mrs AbdulRazaq’s office on Wednesday, August 19.
The couple went for the meeting wearing the same attire, with the husband looking remarkably different from the deadbeat image initially created about him.
Speaking in a phone conversation with Qed.ng founder Olumide Iyanda a day after the meeting, Mrs AbdulRazaq confirmed that Risikat came to her office along with her husband and their two kids.
“Yes, they were in my office. I had a Zoom meeting with them because I was not on seat at the time they came, but we had a very rewarding engagement,” Mrs AbdulRazaq said.
The governor’s wife said she advised the couple to be mindful about what they say to people so that they do not magnify the challenges in their marriage.
“Some people have been visiting them for unsolicited interviews and photoshoots.
“It is important they watch what they say. We will be monitoring them,” the first lady added.
That was, however, not enough to bring them back together.
While Wasiu said he loved his wife and wanted her back, the woman insisted that she needed time to recover from the abuse suffered while they were together.
Saturday’s wedding ceremony confirmed that she finally decided to give the union another chance after intervention by family, Muslim clerics and an unnamed monarch.
