Early and Forced Marriages in an African System: An Appraisal of the Rights of the Child in Nigeria

BackgroundThe rights of children all over the world is very important. Children seek special protection because they are too vulnerable and can hardly advocate for themselves. The United Nation Convention on the rights of the child stated that children should enjoy rights from when they are in the womb. This was also reiterated by the Child Rights Act, 2003. Children who have been abused and exploited find it very difficult to reach their full potential as children or adults and can hardly contribute meaningfully to the development of the society and the Nation as a whole. One of the ways in which the rights of children can be exploited is when they are forced to get married at an early age or to marry a person without their consent being obtained. This form of abuse affects the child as such a child is not capable of bearing the responsibilities and challenges associated with marriage for example, childbirth and taking care of the home.MethodsThis paper seeks to shed more light on the reasons why children are victims of forced and early marriages and the effects and consequences of such marriages on the child. The paper thereafter comes up with strategies that will make for a better implementation of such laws to effectively curb forced and early marriages in Nigeria. Primary and secondary data shall be relied upon in the course of searching for the root of this problem and its solutions.The primary data to be relied upon include Constitutions, principal and subsidiary Legislations, Case law and other relevant documents. The secondary data to be used include books, journal articles, reports of Non-Governmental Organizations and internet materials. This search was conducted with the purpose of gaining knowledge on the current situation of Child marriages in Nigeria; the efforts that have beenmade by government to protect such children and how effective the laws that have been put in place have been. It is expected that this research will contribute to knowledge which the society will perceive on child marriages and will spur the government to make changes as regard child rights legislation in Nigeria especially as regard its implementation.ResultsEarly and forced marriages have developmental, psychological and physical consequences on the child and even affects the society and the Nation as a whole.ConclusionEarly and forced marriages in Nigeria exists and needs to be curbed on time. All hands therefore need to be on deck to solve this problem since children are too immature both physically and mentally to fight on their own.Key words: Early and Forced marriage, Child, Child Rights, Nigeri