Update on Grace Adejo; the Anyigba teenager in forced marriage, crying for help
The story of 13 years old Grace Adejo who was given out in marriage by her father without the mother’s consent which was first reported on Friday continued hearing on Monday in the office of the commissioner for women affairs, Mrs Bolanla Amupitan. The case had earlier gotten the attention of a Non Governmental Organisation in Kogi State, Heal for Africa Initiative, which focuses on girl – child and women sexual and reproductive health and rights via one of their projects ‘Pay Attention to Her’ (PATH) while Grace was being registered for antenatal for the first time in her six months pregnancy.
The Executive Director of the NGO, Dr. Kelechi Okoro who reported the case to the ministry of women affairs for proper intervention, said it was a case of child abuse, teenage marriage and teenage pregnancy. The continued hearing had a twist with emotion – laden narratives when the father of the victim, friends and family members all broke down in tears in the father’s admittance to being in the wrongs.
The father, Mr James Onalo Samuel attributed his mistakes to broken home, saying it was not his intention to ruin the daughter’s life and that he decided to give her out in early marriage because of frustration. “Broken home contributed to this issue. I didn’t even know it was wrong. It is traditional in our place to give our daughters out in marriage early. Our people even congratulated me for successfully giving her out. She is a smart girl and I never meant to put her life in danger.”
The father who denied tricking the mother of Grace into collecting their baby at the age of 5, narrated how he only told the wife to perform some tradition ritual in order to have full custody of the baby, since they were no longer together. “I never collected Grace trickishly from the mother when she brought her to the village. I only asked her to go to my native home town to buy Kolanuts and other condiments to perform rituals that will allow Grace to remain in her care,” he explained.
In her reaction, the commissioner for women affairs, Mrs Bolanle Amupitan said there was no ignorance in law, saying the law would take its course and that the father needed to be prosecuted for breaking the provisions of the child rights’ law, which states that a child should be protected and allowed to be developed before marriage. Mrs Amupitan who asked the ministry’s lawyers to read out relevant sections of the Kogi State child rights’ law document before the parties to the case, faulted the father for violating his daughter’s rights to “education and development as a child, in order to become a good adult.”
According to the commissioner, Mr Onalo would either face a five years jail term or an option of N500,000 fine, when eventually handed over to the police and prosecuted in the courts. She appealed to parents and the general public to ensure every child in their custody was adequately protected to ensure the reduction of all forms of child abuses in the society. The commissioner ordered Mr Onalo to return the bride price paid to him by the husband of Grace immediately as there was no marriage in the eyes of the law.
He was then given an opportunity to pick suitable date to turn the husband of his daughter in or get arrested by security forces on their terms for prosecution. Traditional beliefs one would say contributed to an extent in separating Grace from her mother at the said young age of 5, because Grace’s mother’s refusal to perform the ritual rites she didn’t completely believe in, gave the father of the girl the impetus to forcefully withdraw their child from the mother, since he was already married to another woman.
Hearing and possible prosecution will continue when the purported husband eventually makes himself available within the time frame given by the ministry. You will recall that in my last report, it was made known on how Grace Adejo who is already 6 months pregnant has never had antenatal sessions prior to when her case became public and has since been registered for antenatal up until delivery by the Secretary to the Kogi State Government, Dr. Folashade Arike Ayoade.
The government is equally willing to sponsor her education after she must have been delivered of her baby. The uncle of Grace who trained her up to age 5 described her as very intelligent in tears, while pleading custody of the her, describing both parents as irresponsible as he had attempted and pleaded severally with the father to allow him train her through school before the incident.
About Post Author
