Written by Jackson Udom
There are strong indications that the Senate will on resumption from the Easter break debate the recent marriage of Senator Sanni Yerima to a 13-year-old girl from Egypt.
Speaking with Sunday Tribune on condition of anonymity, a source at the Senate disclosed that “the upper legislative body will soon deliberate on the marriage recently contracted between Yerima, a former governor of Zamfara State and serving Senator to an underage girl from Egypt.
“The development is very very wrong and lacks any sign of morality. It is a clear case of child abuse which we have been fighting against. It is illegal and should be condemned by well meaning and right thinking Nigerians,” the highly influential Senator declared.
The lawmaker noted that “the law of the land frowns at this kind of marriage which is a clear case of child abuse. It is embarrassing to the Senate and indeed the National Assembly and that is why the issue would be tabled before the Senate and decision will be taken.”
Condemning the marriage, the federal lawmaker stated that, “the development becomes more embarrassing considering the calibre of the Senator involved, who should know better as a former state chief executive and a serving lawmaker.”
Former governor of Zamfara State and a serving Senator, Alhaji Sani Yerima, few weeks ago got married to a 13-year-old girl from Egypt.
Sunday Tribune reliably gathered that the marriage ceremony between the senator and the minor was not allowed to take place in Egypt because of an existing law which bars minors from getting married, hence, the ceremony was shifted to Nigeria.
In 2003, the National Assembly passed a law on child rights which supercedes the provisions under the Sharia legal code. The law clearly forbids marrying girls under the age of 18.
Source:
www.tribune.com.ng
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