The report allegedly submitted to Mohammed Bello Adoke(SAN), the Justice Minister and Attorney General of the Federation, on investigation of child marriage charges levied against Ahmed Sanni Yerima, is currently receiving the attention of the federal government, Mr. Adoke said.

He said this last Friday in a telephone interview, adding that the report against the senator from Zamfara State was actually received by Abdulahi Yola, the permanent secretary of the ministry of justice and solicitor-general of the federation.

Mr. Adoke said any citizen who wants information on the report could do so at the Office of the Solicitor General:

“As I am talking to you right now, that report is on the table of the Solicitor General and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, who is looking into it. So, if you need any information, go to him. I am sure he would give you.

“That report is not, and has never been on my table. I do not call for files which report has been conclusive,” Mr. Adoke said.

However, information gathered at the ministry of justice headquarters indicated that the government is currently weighing various options to adopt on the report submitted by the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) after its investigation of Mr. Yerima’s alleged marriage to a 14-year old Egyptian girl.

The options being considered, according to a source who spoke under anonymity, include prosecution, and alternate resolution.

A release from NAPTIP last week revealed that Mr. Yerima could not be prosecuted under the NAPTIP Act except under the Child Rights Act, which is effective in Abuja, where the alleged offence was committed.

NAPTIP’s report on the case that has drawn widespread condemnation, is being debated after comments attributed to the chairman of the Senate committee on ethics and privileges, Omar Hambagda, that no prosecution can be initiated under the Child Rights Act, as it was improperly enacted.

The committee said it has concluded its investigation and was currently putting finishing touches before a formal submission this week.

Mr. Hambagda stated that the President assented to the Act before its endorsement by majority of the states, as provided by the 1999 Constitution.

“The passage of the Act by the National Assembly is not for Abuja, but for Nigeria. Unfortunately, the Act was assented by the President before the states were asked to endorse it. So, technically speaking, that law is not yet operational in Nigeria,” he stated.

‘We need a decision’

But in an email reaction, a lawyer and rights activist, Anselm Chidi Odikanlu, disagreed with the lawmaker.

“Importantly, the NAPTIP release says that there is a prima facie case of child marriage made out against Yerima. Curiously, it was silent on the trafficking charge,” Mr. Odikanlu said.

“The point should not be lost on us that an official agency has made out a prima facie case of child marriage/molestation against Yerima. The Attorney General of the federation controls prosecutions in Abuja. Now that the issue is on his table we have to make a direct request of the Federal Attorney-General. What does he intend to do? This is not a case in which the Federal A-G can afford to go under, or allow the file to gather dust or disappear. We need a decision,” he said.

On the statement credited to Mr. Hambagda, Mr. Odikanlu said, “It is not the business of the Senate to pronounce on the validity of a law; that is a judicial function. It brings the important business of law making into spectacular disrepute when lawmakers seek to give themselves impunity to commit paedophilia by picking and choosing which law to obey and which to disobey.”

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/Politics/5595206-147/government_weighs_options_on_yerimas_report.csp

It brings the important business of law making into spectacular disrepute when lawmakers seek to give themselves impunity to commit paedophilia by picking and choosing which law to obey and which to disobey.”

It is also important to ask what Yerima has contributed to nation building since 1999 because the only two things I can readily remember are Sharia Law in Zamfara when he was a governor and this issue of child marriage as a senator.

what is there to weigh when a senator unashamedly marries a child!!!

Only in Nigeria.