Nigeria probes senator accused of marrying child

Nigeria’s parliament on Thursday launched an investigation into whether a 49-year-old senator illegally married an underage girl, a crime punishable by up to five years in jail: as governor of Nigeria’s northwestern Zamfara state, Yerima introduced the strict enforcement of Islamic law, sharia along with 11 other northern states in 2000: Under sharia a person is allowed to marry at any age as long as parental consent is provided, but states and the federal government have imposed varying minimum age requirements, ranging from under 14 to 18-years-old.

via:[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/29/AR2010042902374.html]