Emirate Council rule Marriage between Emir of Katsina and Abducted Teen Irreversible

The Katsina Emirate Council has declared the marriage between a 14-year-old girl and Alhaji Abdulmumin Usman, the Katsina Emir, irreversible.

Punch reports that the council met with the officials of the Christian Association of Nigeria at the Palace of the Katsina Emir to determine the fate of a 14-year-old whose parents allege was abducted by the Emir.

The new episode of kidnapped into marriage started in August 2016, when Habiba’s parents, the Isiyaku Tanko family of the Warkaza Community of the state filed a complaint with the Stefanos Foundation, a humanitarian civil rights organisation, stating that their daughter Habiba was abducted by an aide of the Emir, forcefully converted to Islam and married to the ruler.

Habiba was invited to the palace to respond to three questions posed to her by the Kaora Katsina, Alhaji Nuhu Abdulkadir, on behalf of the emirate council yesterday.

Asked if she was forcefully converted to Islam, Habiba responded in the negative. She wasn’t forced into a marriage with the Emir, she added, and also had begun menstruating as at the time of her marriage.

Following her responses, the Emirate Council declared the marriage irreversible.

“The three questions are in line with the dictates of the Islamic religion. Since Isa has voluntarily answered the three questions in our presence, there is no going back on her marriage,” the Kaora Katsina said.

CAN Chairman for Katsina State, Very Rev. Nelson Ugochukwu however insisted that the girl’s parents did not consent to the marriage.

“This girl (Isa) standing before us is 14 years. She is supposed to be in school and not given out in marriage,”

“We are not pleased and we demand justice. Her parents are in Abuja, crying for justice. In my religion, you cannot give out any lady in marriage without the consent of her parents. This marriage does not have the consent of this little girl’s parent. The parents are not happy with what has happened.”

“As the CAN chairman in Katsina, I am the father of all Christians in the state. Our people are not happy. The parents told me that the girl is 14 years. She is supposed to be in school. I want justice to be done in this matter. I want the emirate to look into the matter. To us, the girl is still a Christian” Ugochukwu said.