Senate approves marriage for 'under aged children'

The Senate of Federal republic of Nigeria has approved the marriage of under-aged children irrespective of their age in the country. This new law will proscribe the 18 year-old rule for any Nigerian child to qualify to engaged into a conscious agreement of marriage.

The Senates claimed that a woman is deemed to be full of age once she is married irrespective of her age.

The Proponents or supporters of the under-age marriage rule includes Senator Yerima Ahmad Sani, Zamfara West, who claimed that the provision which stipulates a certain age for women before getting married, was at variance with Islamic law.

After a moment of controversy, Senate President David Mark asked his colleagues to vote afresh on the provision, a situation that eventually went in favour of Sani, who, thereafter, thanked the Senate president and his colleagues for supporting his cause.

It is worthy of note that Senator Yerima Ahmad Sani had two years ago married a 13-year-old Egyptian in violation of the constitutional provision.