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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...

B y Emmanuel Edukugho The Yerima Doctrine: When a girl has seen her menstruation, develops breasts and has pubic hair, she is mature to be married. Not many people would have thought a time would come when paedophilia would be celebrated in Nigeria. But that seems to be the case with the Senate's much-touted bid to legalise child marriage. [caption id="attachment_406021" align="alignnone" width="412"] Senator Ahmed Yerima[/caption] Specifically, the Senate voted in support of a resolution to amend the provisions of Section 29 (4b) of the 1999 Constitution. Section 29 (1) states: “Any citizen of Nigeria of full age who wishes to renounce his Nigerian citizenship shall make a declaration in the prescribed manner for the renunciation.” Subsection (4a) states: “Full age means the age of 18 years and above,” while (4b) says: “Any woman who is married shall be deemed to be of full age.” But with the proposed amendment, a married underage girl of 10, 12, 13 ...

By Sola Ogundipe Wife of former Kwara State governor and founder-President of The Wellbeing Foundation Africa, WBFA, Mrs Oluwatoyin Saraki, has called for an  urgent  amendment of Section 29 (4) (b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic  of  Nigeria,  1999  (as  amended), legalizing child marriage. In a position statement on the resolution of the Senate to retain provisions of the Section in question, Saraki pointed out that the constitutional amendment was desirable for  clarification  purposes, and  to eliminate all forms of equivocation that can and will promote the continued abuse of girls through child marriage. In the statement signed by the WBFA Executive Director, Mr Temitayo Erogbogbo, the body  expressed  grave  concern over the Senate’s resolution which, it said, disenfranchises girls  and  women,  and encourages  child  marriage which robs girls of a good education,  optimal  health, opportunities  for  socio-economic empowerment and violates their  rights  to  securi...