…bride’s family says the 4-year-old girl was married to the man in the before world.
Child Rights Advocacy groups in Bayelsa State have strongly condemned a Boxing Day traditional marriage ceremony in the Akeddei community, Sagbama Local Government Area, where a four-year-old girl was married off to a 54-year-old man.
The Do Foundation, among other leading Child Rights groups, labeled the union as illegal, criminal, and a blatant violation of the Child Rights Act.
Investigations revealed that the parents of the young girl orchestrated the marriage, asserting that the 54-year-old man, identified as Elder Akpos, was her husband in a previous life.
Sources within the community reported that the girl believed Elder Akpos was her deceased husband from a previous life.
She allegedly mentioned moving from place to place in different incarnations searching for her former spouse.
Quoting a source, “The little ‘bride’ said if she was not allowed to marry her husband, she would have no other business in the Akeddei community, and that she was going to die peacefully and go her own way. 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,” the source disclosed.
To prevent such a tragic outcome, the community organized an elaborate wedding ceremony to unite the supposed lovers from their past lives.
Elvis Mannie, speaking on behalf of the Do Foundation to The Sun, confirmed the illicit nature of the marriage.
The foundation has launched an investigation to safeguard the child’s welfare.
Mannie emphasized that the 2016 Child’s Rights Law, still effective in Bayelsa State, explicitly forbids child marriages and betrothals, stipulating severe penalties including imprisonment and hefty fines.
“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 said.
Calling for immediate action, the Foundation urged the Bayelsa State government, the Gender Response Initiative Team, and relevant stakeholders to conduct a comprehensive inquiry.
They stressed the need to protect the child from exploitation and prosecute all individuals involved in the distressing incident.
