Young Nigerian woman flees after forced marriage threat from bandit
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Daily Post
Amina Sulaiman, 18, left her village of Dan Marke in Nigeria’s Katsina State after a marriage proposal she says she rejected from a bandit leader. The young woman also says she was struck by the armed man and fears for her safety, according to her video testimony.
Amina Sulaiman, an 18-year-old Nigerian woman, left her village of Dan Marke in Katsina State after her guardians allegedly accepted a marriage proposal from a bandit leader who threatened to burn down the entire community if they refused. She says she repeatedly rejected the proposal and preferred to leave rather than marry the armed man, according to a video in Hausa published on Friday by the Civilian Joint Task Force office in Funtua.
Amina Sulaiman says the bandit leader previously struck her on the shoulder during a meeting and that she has since been unable to carry heavy loads with that arm. She also says her guardians, fearing reprisals from the bandit, asked her to tell him herself that she refused despite the risk that she could be killed, according to the same video.
The young woman refuses to return to Dan Marke and says she would rather live alone than be forced into the marriage. She accuses armed groups of using threats to impose their will on residents of vulnerable rural communities in Katsina State, according to statements reported by the Daily Post.
