My Bride Is Not Underaged, Bauchi Traditional Title-holder Speaks Out

A traditional title-holder in the Bauchi Emirate Council, Aminu Mohammed, who holds the title of ‘Dan Malikin Bauchi’ has reacted to the uproar generated by his purported marriage to an underaged girl called Sakina.

LEADERSHIP recalls that last week, videos and pictures of the wedding went viral on social media, a development that elicited barrage of reactions from Nigerians most of whom lambasted the old man for allegedly marrying a minor.

Dan Maliki was seen in the pictures and video hugging his new bride romantically, a development that further caused criticisms by many commentators, who opined that as a traditional title-holder, Dan Maliki was not supposed to encourage child marriage.

But, the man at the centre of the controversy has cleared the air on his alleged child marriage, stating that his new wife is a 21-year-old adult and that she was not forced to marry him.

Aminu Danmaliki, who took to his Facebook page on Wednesday, said he had to open up on the matter to counter what he called ‘unfounded allegations’ about himself and his new bride.

He wrote: “My recent marriage with Sakina has generated a lot of tension and unfounded allegations that I married an underage girl some suggesting she is 11 years old and that she was forced to marry me. That is untrue.

“The Wedding Video went viral. We decided to keep mute but was advised to state the true facts, here it is: My beloved wife is 21 years old she made her own choice of me as her husband and I loved her too. I hope the blackmailers and doubting Thomas’s will see the reality in this picture and leave us alone to enjoy our honeymoon.”