28/12/2023
54 years old man marries 4 years old girl in Bayelsa state.......
The wedding ceremony between a girl said to be aged 4 and a 54-year-old man in Akeddei community in Sagbama Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, has sparked outrage.
Child Rights Advocacy groups in Bayelsa State, on Thursday, Dec. 28, kicked against the traditional wedding between the minor and a middle-aged man.
The Child Rights advocacy groups, including the Do Foundation, described the marriage as illegal, criminal and against the Constitution and the Child Rights Act.
The wedding between the child and the 54-year-old man, identified as Elder Akpos, took place on Tuesday, Dec. 26, allegedly at the instance of the girl’s parents.
According to community sources, the girl claimed that the man was her husband who died mysteriously in their previous life and that over the years, she has been moving from place to place, to be birthed under different parents, searching for her former husband.
The source said, “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 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.”
