TELL IT

By Henry Umoru ABUJA- SENATOR Ahmad Rufai Sani, ANPP, Zamfara West Wednesday said that under the Islamic law, a girl was considered ripe for marriage based on her physical and mental maturity and not necessarily age, just as he stressed that situations could arise where a very big girl was ready for marriage at age 14, 15, 16 as obtained in other countries. According to him, the 1999 Constitution does not in any way provide for any specific age when a girl could be married, but was quick to add that the same constitution stipulates that any girl aspiring to be married must attain a full age. Speaking Wednesday in an interview on the ‘Kakaaki’ aired programme by the African Independent Television (AIT), Senator Ahmad Sani who denied backing the child marriages during the clause by clause voting on the report of the Senator Ike Ekweremadu led Constitution review, said insinuations that he supported child marriage during the exercise were untrue, misleading and however attributed that ent...

LAGOS  (AFP) - Medical charity MSF said Wednesday a Nigerian village that suffered an unprecedented and deadly lead poisoning outbreak had been cleared of the toxin, but that nearly 1,000 exposed children needed treatment. The crisis in northwest Zamfara state first came to light in 2010, and was "the worst outbreak ever recorded," Medecins Sans Frontieres said. At least 400 children have died from poisoning. Lead exposure in several areas of Zamfara was blamed on unsafe techniques used in extracting gold. Illegal mining is more lucrative than agriculture for impoverished farming communities. Initially, the communities had largely concealed or denied the fatalities and illness that came from lead poisoning for fear that authorities would ban mining activities. The problem was compounded by a requirement that medical staff clear the entire area of toxins before treatment could begin. Michelle Chouinard, MSF's Nigeria country director, said the cleanup process was completed...