How my son-in-law contracted fake marriage with ex-president Buhari and myself – Food vendor He extorted me N5m using Buhari’s name

The mainstream and social media went agog recently when Daily Trust reported how the son-in-law of a 40-yearold Saudatu Aliyu deceived her into believing that he was contracting marriage between her and former President Muhammadu Buhari. In this interview, Saudatu shared her experience with her daughter and son-in-law.

You recently won a court judgement against your son-in-law, Gambo Adamu, who deceitfully ‘contracted’ your marriage with ex-President Muhammadu Buhari. What really transpired?

I got to know Gambo Adamu while selling food at Kure Ultramodern Market. That was in 2016. He worked as a private security at the market. We became familiar because he was one of my regular customers.

I later brought my daughter from Yola, Adamawa State, to stay with me in Minna after I separated with my husband. But when I remarried, I wasn’t going to the shop regularly, so my daughter was running the restaurant for me. That was where and how they started a relationship. I didn’t know until when they had gone far.

When Gambo sent my sister’s daughter who visited us from Gombe to inform me of his intention to marry my daughter, I told him that there was no problem. I told him to meet the girl’s parents in Yola and seek their consent.

He later came to me to form a nongovernmental organisation known as Youth Progressive Group. While we were discussing about the organisation I became seriously ill and spent months in the hospital. He started getting me traditional medicines, in addition to what my parents and younger brothers were getting for me. He went as far as travelling to his village to get me some traditional medicines. But at that time he was yet to get married to my daughter.

When I recovered, I went back to continue with my food business and we became closer.

One day, I took my daughter to Yola to discuss the marriage proposal with her father. Because of that we had a misunderstanding and I wanted to leave her in Yola with her father, but some people advised that I shouldn’t do that because she would become wayward. In fact, because of her father’s insistence that she would not be allowed to marry Gambo Adamu, she attempted to commit suicide. She wanted to take rat poison before she was saved. That was why people said I should take her back to Minna.

I brought her back to Minna and eventually, her father agreed and she got married to Gambo in 2018.

After the marriage, Gambo reminded me of the non-governmental organisation he asked me to set up. He said I would serve as its patron and sponsor while he would serve as chairman. I told him that I had never operated an NGO, so I had no idea of how to run any. He told me that whatever I spent would be documented and opportunities would come in future. I told him I was going to think about it and also seek advice from my brothers.

He also asked me to get him God-fearing people who would help him handle a contract for the sale of hajj seats to intending pilgrims. I told my younger brother and few other people in my area and invited them for a meeting with him so that he would explain to them better.

He said he was going to design membership forms to be filled by all the members of the NGO. He also said the forms would be given to them for free but as the patron and sponsor I would take the financial responsibility for the design and printing. I gave him N2,000 to design and print the forms. That was in 2017.

So, we started the NGO and meetings were held on Mondays. As we progressed, he asked us to start contributing N200 every Monday to run the organisation while late coming would attract N100. He later introduced N5,000 as monthly contributions. He also told me that we needed to start giving out charity to orphans and the less privileged, especially those who could not pay their house rents. That was when I developed full interest in the NGO so that we could help the needy.

After that, he said I needed to get the organisation registered somewhere at the Emir’s Palace, Minna. I gave him N6,000 for the registration. He also asked me to print posters, which cost me N18,500 for the first printing. I did another printing at the cost of over N20,000. That was how we continued.

How did the discussion of getting you married to former President Muhammadu Buhari begin?

One day, we visited hospitals and orphanage homes to help the sick and the needy. Before we went to those places, he said we should get a cameraman to take pictures and record videos for record purposes. It was after these visitations that he told me that he was going to take the video to Abuja to show to the federal government so that he could secure a contract for us. He requested for my passport photographs, which I gave him. Those photographs are still with him as I speak with you. He also collected my voter’s card, national identity card and my original secondary school certificates.

They are also still with him. He asked me to give him N50,000 for transport to go to Abuja and for hotel accommodation. I don’t know if he truly went to Abuja, but he told me he went along with his wife.

When they returned from Abuja, they came to me, saying that when government officials and members of the House of Representatives from Niger State and officials of some embassies watched the video, in the company of Buhari, who was still in power then, as well as Mohammed Umaru Bago, the current governor of Niger State, who was a House of Reps member from Niger State, and some other government officials, they said they liked me because I would be of help to them in mobilising votes during elections.

He advised that I should bring money to rent an office for the activities of the NGO with a signpost so that we could easily be traced. He also suggested that I needed to get him a befitting house as the chairman of the organisation, where he could comfortably receive guests. I gave him a huge amount of money to get a good house for himself and rent an office. Later, I gave him over N300,000 to renovate his house and do other things, including getting letterhead papers.

After renovating the house we rented, they said it would be sold because the owner had died. That was how I lost that money. He said we should rent another office and I gave him N120,000 to get a place in Dutsen-Kura. I also paid for his house, where he said he would receive guests from Abuja, including ex-President Buhari. He told me that visits by Buhari would always be secret, so we shouldn’t be taking them to hotels. That was when he told me that Buhari said he loved me and would love to take me as his wife.

I didn’t believe him until when I asked his wife (my daughter) and she swore by Allah and Prophet Muhammad (SAW) that what her husband said was true, that she was present when ex-President Buhari said it. I couldn’t control my tears. My son-in-law later brought out a paper, alleging that it was a letter written by Buhari to me and read it to my hearing. He said Buhari requested for my personal pictures.

Why didn’t you seek advice before believing the purported proposal from former President Buhari?

They said it was a secret, so I shouldn’t tell anybody because if people or other women got to know about the proposal, they would get jealous and might kidnap me. They said I shouldn’t tell even my parents until the relationship became stronger. I worked with all they said. Two days after, they called to ask if I had accepted ex-President Buhari’s proposal. I said yes basically because he is a northerner and Fulani by tribe. Thereafter, he requested for my pictures, with a promise that he was going to give to them to Buhari. So I went to a photo studio and snapped different pictures, from which he selected the ones he would take to Buhari.

After collecting my pictures, he requested for N57,000 for transport and hotel accommodation. Two days after, he called me, saying he was still in Abuja and the money I gave them was not enough, so I should send more money for transport. I sent N7,000 again for transport back to Minna. When they came back, they told me they met Buhari at the Villa and he was happy. He gave me Buhari’s picture, saying the former president gave it to him. He also brought a letter from Buhari, which he read to me.

At that point, I asked if I would let my parents know of the proposal, but he said I should wait until Buhari visited me in Minna. He promised to let me know if Buhari gave him a date for his visit so that I would inform my parents. He also told me that the then Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai, Borno State governor, Babagana Umara Zulum and Buhari himself had agreed to join my NGO. He later told me that Zulum wanted to take over as the chairman of the organisation, adding that he always had meetings with them.

On several occasions he collected money from me to go to Abuja to see ex-President Buhari. He also tasked me to prepare food - pounded yam, tuwon shinkafa, with cow head and cow tail pepper soup, fried chicken and soft drinks, saying that Buhari and his team were coming to Minna to have a meeting with him. At a point, my parents insisted in knowing where I was taking those foods to. In fact, my father wanted to stop me.

Did you for once demand to see Buhari?

Each time I finished preparing the food and dressed up to go and see Buhari with it, he would ask me to wait for him. He would come and collect the food himself or send his friends to come down and collect it from our house. He didn’t allow me to follow him with the food.

I spent a lot of money preparing the foods. He told me to take note of whatever I spent so that they would pay me back.

One day, he said Buhari was ready for the wedding and I should begin to buy wears, adding that the former president wouldn’t want an elaborate ceremony. He wanted the wedding fatiha done secretly.

Did you buy the wedding wears as he requested?

I bought seven different cloths (and co) for the wedding ceremony. I bought different foot-wears, which he collected to go and show the president for approval. He collected N50, 000 as transport fare for that journey also. And he told me he embarked on each journey with his wife. When he came back, he said Buhari said the cloths were okay and he was going to pay N100,000 as bride price. He gave me the N100, 000.

While I was eager to get the marriage contracted, I heard that he was leaving Minna for Kano on transfer. They didn’t even let me know that they were leaving Minna. But luckily for me, the day they were travelling, at the Niger State Transport Authority park at Tunga market, somebody saw them and called me, saying that my son-in-law was transferred to Kano and I didn’t inform her. I told her that I didn’t know. That was when I called him and he told me that it was an emergency and he was asked not to let anybody know about it. I prayed for them.

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