The “marriage” between a four-year-old ‘bride’ and a 54-year-old man in the Akeddei community in Bayelsa State is a traditional rite undertaken to save the child’s life, according to her parents.
They claimed that the marriage, conducted in the community located in Sagbama Local Government Area of the State, was a spiritual rite to ‘untie’ the duo who were betrothed in their “previous lives”.
It was gathered that the girl’s parents, the 54-year-old man, a traditional ruler and others, who participated in the ‘marriage’ ceremony, were summoned by the Bayelsa State Government following public outcry that trailed the ‘awkward’ arrangement.
On Thursday, January 4, 2024, Parents of the ‘bride’ and three others appeared before the State government’s Gender Response Initiative Team (GRIT) to explain their roles in the child marriage.
The government’s team comprised the Chairman of GRIT, Dr Dise Ogbise-Goddy, and the Bayelsa State Coordinator of the Child Protection Network, Kizito Andah.
Others are the Chairman of Bayelsa Non-Governmental Forum, Mr Taritei Boco, and representatives of the DO Foundation, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and Civil Society Groups.
The team heard submissions from the toddlers’ father, Mr Morris Aboma, the “groom”, Mr Akpos Napoleon, and the Paramount ruler, Chief Moneyman Binabo.
In their separate submissions before the government team, they all insisted that the purported child marriage was a traditional practice termed “Koripamo” aimed to save the little girl’s life.
They explained that it was a cultural practice in Akeddei community, Oyakiri clan, that if a girl child always fell sick, a man would be required to drop a symbolic amount as a token to save the little girl from dying.
The community representatives stated that what transpired between the little girl and Napoleon was not a marriage but an Ijaw cultural practice called ” Koripamo”.
They further explained that whenever the traditional rite of “Koripamo” was conducted, the man who paid the token was not required to take the girl as a wife.
“The traditional rite will also not stop the girl from marrying any man of her choice when she grows up to the age of marriage.”
According to the Ijaw tradition, this rite can be done on a boy child or girl child.
Father of the child, Aboma, who spoke in vernacular (Ijaw language), said his daughter was always sick to the point of death.
He said according to Akeddei tradition, the only way to save her life is for a man to pay a symbolic bride price and save the child’s life and that it had nothing to do with a real marriage.
According to the “groom”, the outcry that trailed the rite is regrettable because all he did was just to save the child’s life as she is no longer sick again.
He said such tradition had been going on but it had not been elaborately celebrated with fanfare like the December 26, 2023 event which drew widespread reactions and outrage.
“But since she says if I don’t do what she says she will die, I had to look for money and do it since it involves life; as it is, I am frustrated by this whole issue,” Napoleon lamented.
The Paramount Ruler of the Akeddei community, Binabo, said he heard of a marriage in the community during the festivities, maintaining that he did not, however, have full details, not until the DPO of Sagbama Police Station asked him to produce those who got married in the community.
Chief Binabo further said he had to invite the little girl’s parents to get detailed information about what transpired on the ‘marriage’ day.
He said the parents told him that the little girl had been sick and that Napoleon had to pay a symbolic amount, emphasizing that what happened in the Akeddei community was not a formal marriage but a fulfilment of cultural practice.
However, the Royal Father said what surprised him was the demand of the little girl for an elaborate ceremony involving food, canopies and a sound system to be hired to celebrate the marriage.
He further noted that the man who paid the token on the girl was not expected to take her home to live as husband and wife, nor stop the girl from marrying any other person of her choice when she got old enough to marry.
On their part, Andah and Boco said from submissions made by the little girl’s parents, the supposed ‘husband’ and the Paramount Ruler of the Akeddei community, what actually transpired was not a formal marriage but a cultural practice known as “Koripamo”.
They noted that from reliable information gathered, the little girl had not been sexually abused as confirmed by Dr James Omietimi at the GRIT office and that the child was living a normal life, having no amorous relationship whatsoever with the 54-year-old.
Speaking after the meeting, the Chairman of GRIT, Ogbise-Goddy said the deliberation was frank and fruitful and promised to give further updates on the matter.
She said the Bayelsa Ministry of Women Affairs, Children and Social Development and all stakeholders would review the situation and take a decision appropriately.
“As I had stated earlier, the Bayelsa State Government is child-friendly and will do anything to protect all the children of the state from any form of perceived abuse,” Ogbise-Goddy said. – NAN
