For all we know, child bride is still very common in some areas in Nigeria, especially the northern part.Seventeen years old teenager, Fatima Baba who was forced by her parents to marry a 35 years old man, Salihu Mohammed in Niger state is currently begging for her freedom.

She has appealed to the Niger state child right protection agency to dissolve the marriage that is just a month old.

According to the teenager, she said:  “I was given in marriage to Salihu by my family who thought I will have a better life with him. I do not want this marriage; I do not love this man. I want a divorce because I want to go to school and it is only when I am divorced that I can return to school,” Baba pleaded.

Meanwhile, the husband had a different story as he claimed that Fatima was initially happy with the marriage but eventually changed her mind later on without a specific reason.

He said: “At first, my wife was happy with the marriage until she suddenly changed her mind and opted for a divorce.

I still love my wife and I want to spend my life with her, but if she wants a divorce, I have no objection. I cannot force her to remain in the union,” he reportedly said.

However, The District Head of Shaba Legbo, Halilu Shaba, who is strongly against forced marriages in the district, told the agency that parents in the community were fond of forcing their children into early marriage.

“Some also send their children to become housemaids, thereby denying them the opportunity to go to school,” Shaba said.

The Director-General of the agency, Maryam Kolo, applauded Fatima for her courage to seek for divorce and gave both families a two-week ultimatum within which to dissolve the marriage.

“If you fail to do so within the two weeks, the agency will file for divorce on behalf of the girl in a Sharia Court,” she said.