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A child rights advocacy group in Bayelsa, DO Foundation, on Thursday, kicked against the December 26, traditional marriage between a four-year-old and a 54-year-old man at Akeddei community in Sagbama Local Government Area of the state.

The foundation, in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria in Yenagoa, described the marriage as illegal, criminal, and a child marriage which is against the constitution and the Child Rights Act.

The statement was signed by the foundation’s chairperson, Mr Elvis Mannie.

The foundation condemned child marriage as horrendous, despicable, and a criminal activity

According to the civil society group, the act is capable of retarding the giant strides made by the government and people of Bayelsa in the area of protection of child rights.

The foundation noted that the Child’s Right Law was domesticated in the state in 2016 and is still in force in Bayelsa.

”This law criminalises child marriages and child betrothals prescribing various terms of imprisonment and heavy fines,” the foundation noted.

The foundation called on the state government, the Gender Response Initiative Team, and all stakeholders in the gender response system to immediately swing into action to respond appropriately.

It urged the security agencies to launch a thorough investigation into the incident, with a view to the protection of the child from sexual exploitation.

The group also demanded the arrest and prosecution of all persons found culpable in this despicable act.

The foundation has launched an investigation into the development aimed at saving the child from the obnoxious situation.

Leading Reporters learnt that the marriage between the four-year-old ‘bride’ and the 54-year-old man, simply identified as Elder Akpos, was at the instance of the girl’s parents.

A source said, ”The little bride said if she was not allowed to marry her husband, she would have no other business in Akeddei community, and that she was going to die peacefully and go her way.

“In order to avoid losing the girl to death, the people of Akeddei decided to organise a glamorous wedding ceremony to mark the union.”

Leading Reporters learnt that the several buildings, structures and roads have been destroyed, while over 100,000 persons have been displaced by the menace of gully erosion ravaging communities in Anambra State, South-East.
Leading Reporters also gathered that some of the communities mostly ravaged by the disaster include: Oba community in Idemili South Local Government Area, Ozubulu in Ekwusigo Local Government Area, Onitsha Inland in Onitsha North Local Government Area, Awada, Nkpor and Obosi communities in Idemili North Local Government Area, as well as Atani and Okpoko communities in Ogbaru Local Government Area, among several others.

One of the roads currently being ravaged by the disaster is the Onitsha-Owerri Road, which has become a nightmare to road users, because the erosion devastation has completely cut off one lane of the ever busy road.

The Onitsha-Owerri Expressway connects other South-East states and some parts of the South-South and recently, a devastating erosion cut off one lane of the busy expressway at Oba community, and since the incident happened in July, 2023, it has become a nightmare for road users.

The Agulu-Nanka Road axis and Alor-Nnobi Road have also been badly affected by the disaster, a situation that has attracted both national and international visitors and several others to the plight of road users.

Among the structures under serious erosion threat are the popular Rojeeny Games Village, Tansian University, and a multi-million naira plastics company located in Oba, near the Onitsha-Owerri Road.

Already, churches, schools, shops and several residential buildings worth billions of naira, including several failed roads in the inner communities, have been destroyed completely by the erosion menace.

However, both the federal and state governments are tackling few of the erosion menace in the state, such as the one along the Onitsha-Owerri road and some other major roads in the state.

This is just as the state Commissioner for Environment, Felix Odimegwu, has disclosed that no fewer than 160 out of 179 communities in Anambra State are currently grappling with the imminent threat posed by erosion gullies.

Odimegwu disclosed this while speaking at an award night organised by the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Awka branch, recently.

Odimegwu averred that the ravaging erosion menace across the state is caused by actions and inactions of the residents, which he said require collective efforts and expertise to control.

Emphasising the urgent need for collective action and expertise to mitigate the impact of the erosion menace, the commissioner added that negligence would undoubtedly continue exacerbating the environmental vulnerabilities.

He, however, applauded the ongoing rehabilitation works going on at some of the erosion sites, facilitated by the governor of the state, Chukwuma Soludo,  and emphasised the positive strides made in the ministry.

He said, “No fewer than 160 out of 179 communities in Anambra State are currently grappling with the imminent threat posed by erosion gullies.

“Environment is everybody’s business. Looking at what is happening in the state today, the ecological problems we are facing, it is high time we all took responsibility for our actions and our inactions.

“And the engineers must play their roles and ensure the right thing is done at every point in time, especially in the areas of the design and construction of buildings, because unsustainable designs and unprofessional construction are parts of the major causes of these environmental challenges.”

South-East PUNCH correspondent, who visited various erosion sites on Tuesday and Wednesday, gathered that a three-storey building and a school constructed close to the gully at Nkisi-Aroli Street at Onitsha Inland community, a highly populated area, recently caved in as the erosion had continued to expand.

Following the development, residents who spoke to our correspondent in separate interviews, said more buildings have been submerged while many occupants have been displaced and their belongings destroyed.

A septuagenarian and retired educationist, Onwa Chukwudili, told South-East PUNCH correspondent that he had suffered serious hardship in the past three years due to the erosion.

Chukwudili stated, “I thank God that I am still surviving, and I thank the state government for the much it has done, but as you can see, the calamity is not over yet, as it is rapidly ravaging properties.

“I thank our monarch and the town union’s leadership for the relief items they have so far provided for the victims. The state government has diverted the water channel from the main erosion gully site, but it has yet to be sealed. That is our concern now.”

Another resident of the area, Amechi Emenike, urged the state government to rescue them from the area, adding, “We want a proactive measure, not political promises made by past administrations.”

A community leader and President-General, Onitsha Development Union, Chikwuma Ugwu, told our correspondent that since the erosion started in late 2019 and became severe in 2020, they had approached the various arms of the government to no avail.

He added, “Our monarch has done a lot too, by using his influence at a time when the then Minister of State for Environment, as well as officials of Anambra State government visited the site.

“Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project officials and even government officials were here to look at it. The governor had some compassion and he started a palliative measure.”

He, however, appealed to Governor Soludo to complete the work and desilt the Nkisi River for the stream to flow freely, while tasking the Federal Government for support.

It was tales of woes of devastation caused by the erosion from farmers and residents of other communities visited by South-East PUNCH in Atani and Okpoko communities in Ogbaru Local Government Area.

A resident and a farmer in the community, who gave her name as Chinwe Ozor, said the area is presently battling the existential threat from the menace, adding that a torrential rain some months ago, caused the collapse of a two-storey building there; another two-storey building caved in at the peak of the 2022 rainy season

Ozor said, “This erosion started about four years ago, and the community has done everything humanly possible to checkmate it. We have spent several millions of naira with the collaborative efforts of people in the Diaspora and some of our members in the House of Assembly, but up till now, there is no hope to the end yet as there still more work to be done.

“No intervention whatsoever has come to us either from the Federal or state government. Although, recently, the state government has started some rehabilitation works, but it is still a far cry to the devastation caused by the menace.

“Year 2024 is around the corner and every efforts should be intensified to ensure this menace is tackled head-on. Our farmlands have also been destroyed by this erosion and as it is now, we don’t know where we are going to farm during the 2024 farming season.”

Another farmer from Atani in Ogbaru LGA, Marcel Okonkwo, who conducted our correspondent around the erosion site in the community, said, “Ogbaru is an agrarian community, and it is a major farm settlement in Anambra State, and also famous in fish production.

“The menace of erosion has made life unbearable for us. Many buildings as well as Atani Community Primary School have almost been cut off from the community due to the disaster.

“We have seen hell because of gully erosion, and we can no longer control it. Some government officials have been here in the past but after visiting us, they never did anything.

“We are begging Governor Chukwuma Soludo and the Federal Government to please save us from this impending disaster. We have serious ecological challenge that demands urgent intervention. Since 51 years ago when I was born, my community has been under threat of erosion. We also produce cassava and palm oil in large quantities, but erosion menace is not allowing us meet our full potential.

“Teachers and health workers reject postings to the community due to bad road, and it has serious implications on our people. On our own, we have done our best with the support of our people in the Diaspora. We are now overwhelmed. This is ecological disaster.”

The monarch of the community, Igwe Joseph Nwafor described the situation as very worrisome, while decrying the ripple effects of erosion menace and bad road on the community.

Meanwhile, the Senator representing Anambra Central zone, Chief Victor Umeh, after visiting the erosion sites recently, tabled the matter at plenary in the Senate under matters of urgent national importance.

Lamenting the plight of people of the South East, Umeh said, “There is no guarantee that the other lane on the Onitsha-Owerri road will survive the pressure. Many factories and houses are already collapsing and people working in those companies will suddenly lose their jobs unless emergency work is done to the erosion scourge in the area.

“This is a major gateway to the Eastern part of Nigeria. The second Niger Bridge is not far from here and all the vehicles coming from the Western part of the country into the South-East and South-South states pass through this road. This is why urgent action is needed.

“Almost every community in the state is threatened by erosion. The South-East is small in size and, regrettably, we are losing even