Amidst an uproar over the alleged ‘marriage’ of a 4-year-old girl to a 54-year-old man in Akeddei, Bayelsa State, parents and relatives appeared before a state government panel, defending the act as a life-saving cultural practice known as “Koripamo.”
A team led by the Chairman of the Gender Response Initiative Team (GRiT), Dr. Dise Ogbise, along with Child Protection Network Coordinator Kizito Andah and representatives from various organizations convened to address the contentious issue.
During the hearing, the girl’s father, Elder Morris Aboma, the supposed husband Akpos Napoleon, and the Paramount ruler Chief Moneyman Binabo vehemently defended the act, insisting it was part of a traditional practice intended to save the child’s life.
Explaining the ritual, they detailed that in Akeddei Community, ailing girls often prompted a cultural tradition known as “Koripamo.”
As per this custom, if a girl consistently fell ill, a symbolic marriage token was required to be paid by a man, an act believed to prevent the child’s death. They clarified that this practice did not entail a formal marriage but was deeply rooted in Ijaw culture.
Emphasizing the temporary nature of the ritual, they emphasized that the man paying the token would not claim the girl as a wife or impede her future marriage choices when she reached adulthood. This cultural rite, they stressed, could apply to both boys and girls.
Elder Morris Aboma, speaking in the Ijaw vernacular, underscored his daughter’s severe illness, citing the tradition’s belief that only such a practice could avert her untimely death.
He maintained that the act was solely aimed at safeguarding her life and was unrelated to a genuine marriage.
