Reps Investigate Yerima’s Marriage to Egyptian Minor

PHOTO: CONTROVERSIAL POLITICIAN, AHMED SANI YERIMA.

ABUJA April 29, (THEWILL) - The House of Representatives Thursday, just like the Senate, directed an immediate investigation into the controversial marriage between Senator Ahmed Sani Yerima and a 13-year-old Egyptian girl.

The House directed its Committee on Public Petition to investigate the matter and report back to it for further action.

The matter came to the floor of the House today when Honourable Abike Dabiri-Erewa presented five petitions from some Women Advocacy groups to the lawmakers and sought investigation into the issue.

This is coming on the heels of Senate’s resolution Wednesday mandating its Committee on Ethics to probe the matter.

Yerima has come under intense public criticism following his controversial marriage to the minor.

The petitioners observed that the action of the senator, who as governor of a northern state promoted the Islamic Sharia code, violated the Child Rights Act, which forbids marrying a minor.

Presenting the petitions on the floor, Dabiri-Erewa said Yerima’s marriage to the minor was exploitative and urged the House to look into the matter.

She also told the House that the action of the senator violates the Universal Basic Education [UBE] Act, which forbids getting married to a minor as it will impair her ability to get the basic education she’s entitled to, which invariably violated her fundamental human rights.