Stop returning bride price: Mrs Dorcas Aderemi, a Family Law specialist, has advised against returning bride price to the groom’s family during the process of traditional marriage.
She stated this in an interview in Lagos on Thursday, 15 July 2021, according to her, such an act would only serve to invalidate such marriages.
However, in accordance with the Marriage Act, the groom’s family is required to pay a bride price to the bride’s family before the marriage is sealed.
Such payment can be in the form of money, a gift, or a combination of the two.
The practice of returning the bride price by the bride family, usually on the grounds that their daughter is not for sale is, however, common in the western part of the country.
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According to the legal practitioner, customary marriage is a type of marriage that is provided for in the Marriage Act in Nigeria.
“The cogent procedure or process for establishing a customary marriage is the payment of the bride price, so when that bride price is returned, it invalidates that event.
“The bride price is important and is covered for in the law. It is also scriptural in religion.
“When the bride price is paid, the group of society that returns the bride price, especially the Yoruba’s, should stop it.
“This is because it invalidates the process of customary marriage,” she said.
Meanwhile, customary marriage, which is also known as traditional marriage, is a ceremony conducted in accordance with the customs of the families of the bride and groom.
Stop returning bride price…
