Imam Forum in Niger vows to go on with mass marriage of underage orphans – Presidential aide

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement (North Central) Abiodun Essiet has dislcosed that the Niger State Imam Forum has vowed to go ahead with the mass marriage of 100 underage orphans.

There was outrage as Nigerians protested the government-sponsored wedding of the orphans who lost their parents to banditry attacks in the Mariga Local Government Area of Niger State.

Speaker of the Niger State Assembly Abdulmalik Sarkin-Daji who announced the mass wedding last week, in an interview with journalists on Tuesday denied forcing any child into marriage.

Sarkin-Daji explained that recently he announced plans to support orphan girls, especially victims of banditry attacks to get married following an appeal by religious and traditional leaders from his constituency.

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The Speaker said he was approached by religious and traditional leaders in his constituency to support less privileged parents, whose children were due for marriage.

In a post on her X handle, Essiet said the Imam Forum posited that they have not contravened any section of the country’s constitution.

“My attention has been drawn to the media interview of the speaker of the Niger state house of Assembly, Barr. Abdulmalik Sarkin-daji, concerning the marriage plans of 100 orphan girls,” Essiet said.

“I have been in touch with the speaker, the local government chairman, some of the girls, the Governor of the state, and other traditional and religious stakeholders on this issue.

“I offered to empower these girls and also capture them in federal government programs which was communicated to the speaker and the local government chairman.

“The speaker through his media interviews has successfully instigated traditional and religious leaders against the federal government’s position on underaged marriage in our child rights Act 2003.

“The President, on Monday, launched a campaign to promote inclusive education, skill development, and gender equity. The campaign tagged, #WeAreEqual, is an initiative of the Organization of African First Ladies for Development (OAFLAD). The campaign has been launched in 15 African countries in different iterations, focusing on health, education, economic empowerment, and gender-based violence.

“The Niger State Imam Forum has vowed to go ahead with the marriage plan on grounds that it-did not contravene any sections of the Nigerian constitution and teachings of Islam.

“My team have been to Bobi , shadadi and Banji communities in Mariga local government Niger state where the orphans lives and we discovered that some of the orphans are under aged and dropped out of school at JSS 3 and SS 1.”

She said the speaker in his interview stated that his children are in the best private schools in Minna while he wanted to marry off underaged orphans of the poor people.

She advised the speaker to marry off his underaged girls before conducting the mass marriage of underaged orphans.

She emphasized that she is not against conducting marriage for orphans above 18 years of age if they give their consent to the marriage but she is against underaged marriage.