Community of Akeddei in Sagbama Local Government Area of Bayelsa finds itself embroiled in controversy following the reported marriage of a four-year-old girl to a 54-year-old man named Elder Akpos on Boxing Day, December 26, 2023.
Child rights advocacy groups in the state, notably the Do Foundation, have vehemently opposed this union, deeming it both illegal and criminal, in clear violation of the constitution and the Child Rights Act.
The Do Foundation, Bayelsa State Chapter, has initiated an investigation into the matter to safeguard the child’s well-being.
The parents of the young girl, in defense of the union, claim that it was arranged because the 54-year-old man was her husband in their previous life.
Allegedly, the child asserted that the man was her spouse who died mysteriously in their past life, prompting her to search for him by being reborn under different parents.
The source revealed, “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.
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“In order to avoid losing the girl to death, the family allegedly decided to organize a glamorous wedding ceremony to mark the union of the two previous life lovers.”
However, the Do Foundation, through its chairperson, Barrister Elvis Mannie, condemned the act, stating, “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.”
He noted that the Child’s Rights Law was domesticated in 2016 and is still in force in Bayelsa State, adding that “this law criminalizes child marriages and child betrothals on pain of imprisonment and heavy fines.”
Barrister Mannie called upon the government of Bayelsa State, the Gender Response Initiative Team, and all stakeholders in the Gender Response system, urging them to launch a thorough investigation into the incident.
“Launch a thorough investigation into this unfortunate incident, with a view to the protection of the child from sexual exploitation, and the arrest and prosecution of all persons found culpable in this despicable event,” the Foundation articulated.
Credit: Tribune