Jonathan Nwokpor
The Niger State Assembly Speaker, Abdulmalik Sarkindaji, has been sued by Mrs. Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, the Minister of Women Affairs, asking for an injunction to prevent him from marrying off 100 orphaned girls. The case was filed with the Inspector General of Police, IGP.
ZINGTIE remembers that the Speaker had just declared his intention to wed the girls who were left as orphans.
According to reports, bandit raids in the state’s Mariga local government district caused the orphans to lose their parents.
The Speaker declared that one of his constituency projects would be to marry them off.
Promising to pay the bridegrooms’ dowries and to acquire materials for the mass marriage, he declared that the gesture was “aimed at alleviating the suffering of the impoverished.”
Kennedy-Ohanenye called the plans “unacceptable” and emphasised that a thorough investigation has been launched into the matter when briefing reporters in Abuja on Monday.
“I want to let the honorable speaker of the house in Niger State to know that this is totally unacceptable by the Federal Minister of Women Affairs and by the government, totally unacceptable.
“Because there is something called the Child’s Right Act and I said it from the onset, that it is no more business as usual.
“These children must be considered, their future must be considered.
“So I have gone to court. I have written him a letter and written a petition to the IG of police.
”And I have filed for injunction to stop him from whatever he is planning to do on the 24th, until a thorough investigation is carried out on those girls, find out whether they gave their consent, their ages, find out the people marrying them,” she said
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