Nothing wrong marrying 13-year-old, says APC presidential aspirant Yerima

Former Zamfara governor and presidential aspirant under the All Progressives Congress (APC), Sani Yerima, says he did nothing wrong marrying a 13-year old girl.
Mr Yerima justified marrying a 13-year-old Egyptian girl when he appeared on Channels TV on Tuesday
The 2009 marriage generated much criticisms among child rights activists at the time but Mr Yerima insists he did not contravene any Nigerian law.
“If I had done anything wrong, I would have been tried in court. NAPTIP wanted to try the case and they dropped the matter because I didn’t do anything wrong,” Mr Yerima said.
He added that “there is no law in Nigeria that determines when and how you get married. Muslims have Sharia, the Christians I don’t know what their doctrines say.”
A two term governor of Zamfara State between 1999-2007, Mr Yerima, was the first governor to introduce Sharia Law later enforced in 12 northern states of Nigeria.
Critics argue that introduction of Sharia Law might have reinforced the bedrock of Islamic fundamentalism in the country.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette

Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

Heading 2
Six suspects arrested for alleged vandalism, theft from Kebbi INEC office
The police spokesperson urged members of the public to remain vigilant.

Sport
Everton bid for Monaco striker Folarin Balogun
Everton’s move for Balogun followed Beto’s £15 million move to Serie A side Fiorentina.

Heading 3
DHQ says troops killed 324 terrorists, rescued 610 kidnap victims in August
Mr Onoja said the month of August witnessed a marked improvement in operational effectiveness.

Heading 2
Closing arguments begin in trial over Tupac’s assassination
Tupac was shot multiple times and died six days later at the age of 25.

World
Meta pulls Facebook, Instagram ads using porn to steal users’ bank credentials
Indian authorities said the ads directed Facebook and Instagram users to phishing websites.

Lagos
Lagos govt calls for grassroots action to reduce maternal deaths
The commissioner said maternal mortality remained a major concern for families and society.






