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From Sufuya Ojeifo, Damilola Oyedele and Chineme Okafor in Abuja, 04.29.2010
After more than a month of public pressure, the Embassy of Egypt in Abuja has said it cannot take any action on the alleged marriage of Senator Ahmed Sani Yarima to an Egyptian minor because the matter has not been brought to its attention officially.
Also, the Senate has directed that an investigation be conducted on the matter while the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Iyom Josephine Anenih has said the Federal Government cannot initiate legal action until concrete evidence is provided.
Yarima who is the former Governor of Zamfara State now Senate Minority Whip, came under fire from women rights activists and civil society groups for his alleged marriage to a 13-year old Egyptian.
The marriage had reportedly taken place in Abuja because the Egyptian authorities would not endorse getting hitched to an underage girl.
The Press & Information Officer of the Egyptian Embassy in Nigeria Dr. Mohammed Saber told THISDAY on phone that, “We cannot take the girl away from where she is because no one has reported anything to us.”
He, however, confirmed that he is aware of the matter through newspaper reports.
Meanwhile, swayed by public pressure, the Senate has directed an investigation into the matter. A petition by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which was presented by Chair of the Senate Committee on Women Affairs, Emem Uffot Ekaette paved the way for the investigation.
Ekaette had raised a point of order, citing Rule 41 of the Senate Standing Rules (2007 as amended) which forecloses debate to lay a copy of the petition, consequent upon which the Upper House asked the Ethics, Privileges and Public Petition Committee to investigate the matter.
According to her, “This petition is written by the National Human Rights Commission and about ten women groups and addressed to me as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Women Affairs and Youths. It has to do with the marriage of one of our colleagues to a minor.”
Senate President David Mark said the Ethics Committee was free to invite other committees it needed their assistance.
The position of the Senate ran counter to that of its Spokesman Senator Ayogu Eze who had argued that the matter bothered on the privacy of Yarima.
Furthermore the Minister of Women Affairs Iyom Josephine Anenih attributed the unavailability of credible facts as the reason behind the Federal Government’s inability to initiate legal proceedings against the senator.
The minister said yesterday in Abuja that the Federal Government cannot begin court proceedings against the Yarima because there are no credible facts to act upon. Information at her disposal were simply based on newspaper reports and hearsay that cannot be utterly relied upon, she explained.
She said that nobody or organisation has come forth with pictures of the marriage ceremony. She added that the attorney general of the federation will only initiate legal action when the required document/evidence is provided.
Anenih explained that the issue is a recurrent development that may not be solved if nothing is done to curtail it. She called on the media, civil societies and stakeholders to come forth with credible evidence.
"This trend will continue is we cannot engage the perpetrators in legal battles with credible evidence and all these contradictions are what we are fighting to cut off from our system. That way, we can unveil these perpetrators who hide under certain provisions of the constitution and religion.”
The minister also commended female members of the National Assembly for their efforts to garner votes in favour of affirmative action for women in the ongoing constitution review proceedings. Anenih said that although the effort was truncated, it signifies a paradigm shift in gender related issues in the country as the effort was only defeated by a slim margin vote of 168 against 147.
Yarima’s action is seen by women groups as a setback in the fight against Vesicovaginal Fistula (VVF), especially when considering his social standing as a Senator and a former governor.
VVF occurs when the blood supply to the tissues of the vagina and the bladder is restricted during prolonged obstructed labour. Consequently, the tissues die between these organs, forming holes through which urine can pass uncontrollably. It widely happens to minors because of their yet to be fully developed organs.
A coalition of about ten Women groups that included Medical Women Association of Nigeria (MWAN), Women Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA) and the Global Association of Female Attorneys (GAFA) among others, led by Dr. Mma Wokocha, had on Tuesday marched to the National Assembly to protest against the marriage.
The coalition had also called on members of the Zamfara Central Senatorial District to initiate a process of recalling the former governor for what they described as an indecent act. |
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