The father of the four-year-old girl, who was allegedly married to a 54-year-old man in December 2023, has insisted that the purported marriage was a traditional practice conducted to save the little girl’s life.
The parents of the child and three others, including the alleged husband and the paramount ruler of the community, made the assertion when they appeared before the Bayelsa State Government’s Gender Response Initiative Team, GRIT, over the incident of the alleged child marriage.
DAILY POST learnt that in their separate submissions before the team of experts, they all insisted that the purported marriage was a traditional practice and was done to save the little girl’s life.
According to them, it was a cultural practice in Akeddei, a community in the Oyakiri clan in Sagbama Local Government Area, whereby if a girl child always fell sick, a man was required to pay a symbolic amount to save the little girl from dying.
They said that what transpired between the four-year-old girl and 54-year-old Akpos Napoleon was not a marriage but an Ijaw cultural practice called ” Koripamo.”
They noted that whenever the traditional rite of “Koripamo” is conducted, the man who pays the “token ” is not required to take the girl as a wife, nor will he stop her from marrying any man of her choice when she grows to the age of marriage.
According to them, the rite can be performed for a boy or girl.
Morris Aboma, the father of the girl, who spoke in his Ijaw language, said his daughter was often sick to the point of death, adding that according to Akeddei tradition, the only way to save her life was for a man to pay a symbolic price, which had nothing to do with real marriage.
Napoleon, the alleged husband, said: “As it is now, I am regretting doing all I did just to save the child’s life. She’s no longer sick. That tradition has been going on for a long time.”
He said the only difference in their case was that the so-called marriage was not often “celebrated to the extent of hiring a canopy, a sound system and cooking food.”
He added: “Since they said she would die if I didn’t do what she said, I had to look for money and do it because it involved life.”
The paramount ruler of Akeddei community, HRH Moneyman Binabo, said in his submission that he heard of the marriage in the community during the Christmas festivities but did not have full details until the DPO of Sagbama Police Station asked him to produce those who got married in the community.
Binabo said he had to invite the parents of the little girl to get detailed information on what happened on December 27. He, however, said that what surprised him was the demand of the little girl that food be cooked and canopy and sound system be hired to celebrate the ceremony.
The paramount ruler also averred that the man who pays the token on the girl is neither expected to take her home to live with him as his wife nor can he stop the girl from marrying any other person of her choice when she is old enough to marry.
Kizito Andah, Bayelsa State Coordinator of the Child Protection Network, CPN and Taritei Boco, Bayelsa State Chairman of BANGOF, said from the submission of the parents of the little girl, the alleged husband and the paramount ruler of Akeddei community, what happened was not a formal marriage but a cultural practice. They also noted that from the information gathered, the little girl has not been sexually abused, as confirmed by Dr James Omietimi at the GRIT office, and that the child is living a normal life with no relationship with the 54-year-old man.
Speaking immediately after the meeting, the chairman of the Bayelsa State Gender Response Initiative Team, Dise Ogbise Goddy Harry, stated that the deliberation was frank and fruitful and promised to give further updates whenever a decision is taken by the Bayelsa State Ministry of Women Affairs, Children and Social Development and other stakeholders.
“Like 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,” she said.
Bayelsa community insists alleged ‘child marriage’ was cultural practice to save girl’s life