What Nigeria Must Do To Abolish Child Marriage –DELSU Law Professor

By Daniel Dafe

A Professor of Law in Delta State University, DELSU, Abraka, Omerionwan Kingsley Edu, has lamented that child marriage is still prevalent in many communities in Nigeria especially in the northern part, stating that people getting married must be of marriageable age.

The law professor said this while delivering the 110th Inaugural Lecture of the institution on Thursday, titled: ‘The Nigerian Woman Under Customary Law Marriage: Free or Fettered?’

Speaking further, he said “this practice may not be unconnected with custom, tradition, family and societal pressure, illiteracy, poverty and religion.”

According to him, “the incidence of child marriage relates more to girls than boys as a boy would not venture into marriage unless he is financially capable,” just as he defined child marriage as a marriage of a girl who is below the age of 18 years, before the girl is emotionally, physically, psychologically and physiologically ready to undertake the responsibilities of marriage and child-bearing.”

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Edu noted that as a result of the attendant evils of child marriage, “the federal government of Nigeria has made serious efforts to abolish child marriage by passing into law the Child’s Right Act, 2003, thus adopting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, 1999.”

He however hinted that 24 states and the FCT have adopted the Child’s Right Act while twelve states are yet to adopt the Act, saying the reluctance of the remaining twelve states which are in the northern part of Nigeria to adopt the Child’s Right Act may not be unconnected with custom, tradition, beliefs and religion of the people.

The don continued: “It must be noted that section 29 (4) (b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) has not helped in curbing child marriage as the section provides that any woman who is married shall be deemed to be of full age.”

He averred that the import of the provision is to legalise child marriage in Nigeria.

Adding: “Little wonder many of the northern states have refused to adopt the Child’s Right Act.”

The inaugural lecturer thus posited that “for Nigeria to abolish child marriage, the provision of section 29 (4) (b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) has to be abrogated and a uniform age of eighteen years as marriageable age clearly provided for in the Nigerian Constitution.”