Child Marriage: Bayelsa Govt Summons 4-Year-Old Girl’s Parents, “Husband”
The Bayelsa State Government has summoned the parents of a four-year-old girl and a 54-year-old man who allegedly got married in a traditional ceremony in Akeddei community, Sagbama Local Government Area.
The government’s action was prompted by media reports of the marriage that took place on Dec. 26, 2023, which the government described as “illegal” and “repugnant”.
In a statement issued on Saturday in Yenagoa, the government said it had received a formal complaint from a child rights group, DO Foundation, about the marriage and had invited the traditional ruler of Akeddei community to produce the parties involved.
The statement was signed by Dr. Dise Ogbise-Goddy, Chairman of the Gender Response Initiative Team (GRIT) Bayelsa, and Mr Paniebi Jacob, Director of Child Development in the Ministry of Women Affairs, Children and Social Development.
The government said it did not support child marriage under any circumstance and had enacted the Bayelsa State Child Rights Law to protect the rights and welfare of children in the state.
The government also said it was working with the Bayelsa State Police Command to ensure that such incidents did not occur again and to rescue the child from the “mere spiritual” affair.
The government expressed its gratitude to all the non-governmental organisations, including FIDA and DO Foundation, that had intervened in the case and assured the public that Bayelsa State was children-friendly and that the case would be pursued to a logical conclusion.
However, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the marriage was based on the belief of the girl’s parents that the man was her husband in their previous life.
A source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told NAN that the girl had claimed that the man was her husband who had died mysteriously in their previous life and that she had been searching for him in different reincarnations.
The source said that the girl had threatened to die peacefully if she was not allowed to marry the man and that the community had organised a lavish wedding ceremony to celebrate the union of the two “previous life lovers”.
