In March, PREMIUM TIMES published a two-part investigation which documented endemic child marriage incidence in Ebonyi and another thriving illegal customary practice in Cross River State called money marriage.
The Ebonyi State Government has ordered an “aggressive intensified campaign” against endemic child marriage incidence in Ebonyi State after a PREMIUM TIMES’ investigation.
Apart from Ebonyi State, the investigation also uncovered a cruel and customary practice of money marriage in Becheve, a community in Obanliku Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria’s south-south.
Under this illegal customary practice, underage girls and those yet to be born are sold into marriage in exchange for money or goats, food items, or just anything, in settlement of their parents’ debts.
The investigation established that apart from being a customary practice, taking women as money wives is a source of pride and a mark of social status for men in the Becheve Community.
When initially confronted with findings of the investigation, the Commissioner of Women Affairs and Social Development in Ebonyi State, Felicia Nwamkpuma, had referred our reporter to the Department of Child Development in the ministry for official response.
At the time, Emmanuel Nkwuba, head of the department, acknowledged the high incidence of child marriage in the state, before vowing to liaise with the commissioner to follow up on the PREMIUM TIMES’ investigation to stop the practice.
On Friday, Mr Nkwuba, who hails from Izzi LGA where the child marriage incidence is prevalent, told our reporter that Mrs Nwamkpuma, the commissioner, ordered “an aggressive intensified campaign” against child marriage across the state after being informed about PREMIUM TIMES investigation.
“There’s a positive response,” Mr Nkwuba began, referring to the impact of this newspaper’s investigation.
“Upon your investigation, I told my commissioner about the findings. And the commissioner ordered an intensified campaign against the incidence.
“When we got to the month of August, she further directed that we push the campaign across women at August meetings where most women usually assemble to ensure that if anybody forces any underage girl into marriage, they (women) should speak up and report to the ministry,” he said.
Mr Nkwuba said, during the ongoing campaign, women were equally warned to desist from supporting child marriage in the state because the practice is illegal.
According to him, the ministry’s team had been organising the campaigns across communities in Ebonyi State since the ministry’s attention was drawn to the PREMIUM TIMES investigation.
“We are organising the grand finale of the programme on Wednesday, 2 September, because we have now visited all the local government areas in Ebonyi State.
“It will be held at (Abakaliki Township) Stadium. People from all walks of life were invited to speak to Ebonyi women on the issue,” he added.
‘Why we haven’t prosecuted husbands of child brides’
Mr Nkwuba said this newspaper’s investigation prompted the ministry to consider prosecuting husbands of the existing child brides, but reconsidered its stance after some of the child brides protested against the arraignment of their husbands.
“The (Child Rights Act) law says that we should prosecute the husbands. But, each time the matter goes to court, the same victims we are trying to protect, would question their husbands arrest and prosecution, citing the fact they already have children together,” he said.
Continuing, the official said: “During our investigations, we found out that some of the people who forced the victims into marriages are no longer alive.
“So, getting hold of their so-called husbands could not work. What they (child marriage brides) want is support, empowerment.”
Meanwhile, the Cross River State Government has remained silent over the money marriage incidence in Becheve Community.
The state’s Commissioner for Women Affairs, Edema Irom, asked our reporter on Friday to send an enquiry to her which was immediately forwarded to her WhatsApp number.
In the enquiry, PREMIUM TIMES asked the commissioner to confirm if her ministry was aware that money marriage still thrives discretely in Becheve despite claims of ban.
The official was also asked to confirm if there were past or ongoing efforts by the government to tackle the money marriage cultural practice in Becheve Community.
Mrs Irom did not respond to our enquiry, despite reading the WhatsApp message minutes after it was forwarded to her.
Similarly, the Commissioner for Information in Cross River, Ekpenyong Cobham, did not respond to multiple calls seeking his comments.
As of the time of this report, Mr Cobham, a pastor, was yet to respond to a text message seeking his response to similar questions on the issue.
