Man arrested for allegedly forcing underage daughter into marriage

The Anambra State Government has arrested a antheral for allegedly forcing his girl to wed successful the state.

The man, Uzochukwu Okoli, was arrested aft his girl reported the incidental to the State Commissioner of Women and Social Welfare, Ify Obinabo, according to a connection by the commissioner’s media aide, Chidinma Ikeanyionwu, connected Thursday.

Ms Ikeanyionwu said the daughter, Chioma Okoli, 16, besides reported to the commissioner that some her begetter and the antheral she was forced to wed were maltreating her.

The connection indicated that the commissioner, who facilitated the man’s arrest, has vowed to guarantee his prosecution.

How it happened

Ms Okoli, according to the statement, said her begetter began pressuring her and her sisters to wed aft helium brought them backmost from Edo State pursuing their mother’s death.

The girl alleged that she was archetypal forced to unrecorded with an implicit 70-year-old antheral portion she was 14, but would aboriginal tally backmost to her father’s house.

She said her begetter aboriginal forced her to wed a 34-year-old Chinedu Nweke.

Ms Okoli, successful a video clip uploaded connected Facebook, stressed that beingness with Mr Nweke had been pugnacious due to the fact that helium allegedly bushed her and sometimes forced his urine down her throat, a improvement that compelled her to tally distant with her nine-months-old baby.

“When I got home, my begetter said I should spell backmost to him (my husband) aft I narrated what had happened.

“So, I returned (to my husband’s house) and helium continued to bushed me,” she said.

Ms Ikeanyionwu said Mr Nweke, similar Mr Okoli, had been arrested and that some would beryllium arraigned.

The government’s connection did not bespeak erstwhile the incidental happened and the information bureau that arrested Messrs Okoli and Nweke.

The antheral speaks

Mr Okoli, successful the video clip which accompanied the statement, initially claimed that his girl was 18 years aged and not 16 but would aboriginal marque a U-turn, saying the girl was 20 years old.

In the clip, helium denied allegations that helium forced his girl to wed Mr Nweke.

But Mr Okoli’s archetypal daughter, whose sanction could not beryllium ascertained, said successful the clip that their begetter besides forced different of her younger sisters to wed an unnamed 77-year-old man.

“He usually threatened to eject america from his location if we refused to wed (anybody helium brought to us) due to the fact that helium knew that we had obscurity to go,” she said successful Igbo language.

Mr Okoli was heard successful the clip threatening to woody with the daughters erstwhile helium was released from detention.

He asked the daughters to commune that helium dice successful detention due to the fact that helium would marque beingness much miserable for them if helium got retired of detention.

‘Stop pushing your children to aboriginal marriages’

Reacting, the Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare successful Anambra State, Mrs Obinabo, said the daughters would get justness erstwhile their begetter is arraigned for the offence.

She urged parents to halt pushing their children into aboriginal marriages, which could destruct their lives.

Child matrimony successful Nigeria

Child matrimony is similar immoderate matrimony wherever astatine slightest 1 enactment is nether 18 years of age

Such matrimony has been prevalent successful galore parts of the world, including Nigeria.

Nigeria, successful 2003, enacted the Child Rights (Prohibition) Act, which outlawed kid matrimony and betrothing persons little than 18 years of property to immoderate partner.

Anambra State is among the 24 states that person domesticated the law.

According to Part Three, Section 23 of the Act, offenders, connected conviction, look a good of N500,000, a five-year jailhouse term, oregon both.

The conception indicated that those to look the punishment upon condemnation see those who wed specified an underage child, those to whom an underage kid is betrothed, those who beforehand specified matrimony and those who betroth the underage child.