EXTRA: Hameed Ali’s new wife’s ex demands refund of N9m ‘spent during relationship’

An ex-lover to Zainab Yahaya, the new wife of Hameed Ali, comptroller-general of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), has threatened legal action if he’s not refunded the sum of N9,081,207.45 spent on her over the course of their relationship.

Ali, who got appointed in 2015 by President Mohammadu Buhari, had wedded Yahaya on Saturday, in a ceremony that came two years after Hadiza Jummai, his first wife, breathed her last.

But on Monday, a court document addressed to the new bride by Zubairu Malamai, a man who claimed to be Yahaya’s fiancee before she tied the knot with Ali, accused her of a breach of trust in their relationship.

The document, dated May 22, claimed Malamai invested the said sum in Yahaya’s business and life under the assumption that they would get married but Yahaya would later sever ties with him.

Malamai also accused her of promising to marry him only to pick another man as her husband after an “unnecessary quarrel” over money.

“Our brief as disclosed to us is that for over three years you have been in a relationship with our client where he has invested so much in your life, future, and business when you consistently promised to marry him,” Malamai’s claim, which was filed through his lawyer, read in part.

“Even though you knew you were deceiving our client, you allowed hum for all these years to spend money and resources on you while he was in the belief that he was doing that to his future wife. Be that as it may, we have our client’s brief that you have decided to pick another man as a husband.

“While our client congratulates you in your new home, we have instructions to also disclose his displeasure over your reaction few days before your new marriage by taking an unnecessary fight with him thereby insulting him and calling him all kind of names and your claims that he calculates all you have collected from him both as loans, investments, and trips ticket so you can pay him.”

Among the items to which the said sum was attributed to are N2.7 million allegedly spent on flight tickets, N1.5 million investment loan, N450,000 spent on clothing and business, and N500,000 for car purchase.

Others are N753,000 spent on “LEFE cloths,” the cost of company laptops, car plate numbers, company ID cards, a pair of shoes and uniforms, and payment of N200,000 made on proxy.

“In view of the above, we have our client’s instructions to demand from you the immediate payment of the sum of N9,081,207 only,” it added.

“Failure to heed to same shall leave us with no other option than to proceed with legal action to recover the said sum. Your choice in this matter is our preference.”