- Numerous child rights advocacy groups in Bayelsa strongly condemned this event, labeling it as both illegal and criminal
In Bayelsa reports emerged of a traditional marriage ceremony between a four-year-old girl and a 54-year-old man in the Akeddei community, Sagbama Local Government Area, on Boxing Day.
Numerous child rights advocacy groups in Bayelsa, such as the Do Foundation, strongly condemned this event, labeling it as both illegal and criminal.
They emphasized that child marriage stands in direct violation of the Nigerian Constitution and the Child Rights Act.
Reported by Sahara Reporters, the union between the young girl and the 54-year-old man, identified as Elder Akpos, was arranged by the girl’s parents. They justified this union by asserting that the man was her husband in her past lives.
According to sources within the community, the girl claimed a spiritual connection to the man, asserting that he was her deceased husband from a past life. Allegedly, she had been born multiple times into different families, seeking to reunite with her former spouse.
One of the sources said, “The little bride said if she was not allowed to marry her husband, she would have no other business in Akeddei community, and that she was going to die peacefully and go her way.
“In order to avoid losing the girl to death, the people of Akeddei decided to organize a glamorous wedding ceremony to mark the union of the two previous life lovers.”
However, Do Foundation, in a statement signed by Elvis Mannie Esq., its Chairperson in Bayelsa State, confirmed the development. He said the foundation had launched an investigation into the development to save the child.
In the statement, the foundation “described the said child marriage as horrendous and despicable, and also a criminal activity, capable of retarding the giant strides made by the government and people of Bayelsa State in the area of protection of child rights.”
It noted that the Child Rights Law was domesticated in 2016 and is still in force in Bayelsa State.
“This law criminalizes child marriages and child betrothals on pain of imprisonment and heavy fines,” it said.
The organisation called on the Government of Bayelsa State, the Gender Response Initiative Team and all stakeholders in the Gender Response system, including security agencies to launch a thorough investigation into the incident, to protect the child from sexual exploitation, and arrest and prosecute all “persons found culpable in this despicable event”.