In this modern age and time, it is baffling and appalling that the kind of brutality exhibited in this clip is still being experienced in some of our communities.
A forced marriage is a marriage, which takes place against your will; or a marriage that you agreed to, but you did not really have a choice. It involves situations where you feel pressured to the point where you agree, but only because you feel you did not have the choice to say no, and you would not have consented had the pressure not been placed on you.
Aside being a violation of fundamental human rights of the victim, Forced Marriage is also a criminal offence.
The National Assembly made the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act in 2015 to discourage violence against human beings in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and to punish offenders.
The said federal law for the FCT, listed forced marriage as a harmful traditional practice and declared such harmful traditional practice as unlawful and criminal.
The Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015 is popularly known as the VAPP ACT, it is operational in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and many states across Nigeria, have adopted and enacted similar laws. So, there are now the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Laws in many states across Nigeria.
Since forced marriage is a crime, it has a punishment. It is punishable with maximum of 2 years imprisonment or fine of N500,000.00 or both. Punishments for attempting such offence or assisting and aiding an offender is imprisonment for 1 year and or fine of #200,000.00.
Bearing these in mind, it is hoped that the appropriate organs of the government and human rights organizations will investigate the barbaric and inhuman act displayed in this video with a view to bringing the perpetrators to book.
