News

Why Only Virgins Deserve Bride Price — Reno Omokri

Published

2 months ago

August 3, 2025

Former presidential aide, Reno Omokri, has said that only virgins should be considered eligible for bride price, arguing that any financial demand for a non-virgin in marriage is not only untraditional but constitutes extortion.

In a post shared via his official Facebook account on Sunday, Omokri addressed what he described as a widespread misconception in African societies between the concepts of dowry and bride price.

“There is a huge difference between a dowry and a bride price. But in this part of the world (Sub-Saharan Africa), we use them interchangeably. But they are not interchangeable,” he stated.

He explained that dowry refers to the property a bride receives from her parents, which becomes joint property with her husband after marriage.

“A dowry is the money and property given to a female child on her wedding day, by her parents, to take to her husband’s home to become the joint property of both her and her husband. It is practised in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. This is in line with the Biblical injunction that a wife is a helper to her husband, not a burden—Genesis 2:18,” he wrote.

In contrast, Omokri described bride price as a separate tradition, rooted in both African and Jewish customs, which applies only when the bride is a virgin.

“A bride price, however, is different. In African culture, and Jewish traditions and law, it is the property or money demanded by a bride’s family to give her away in marriage to her intended husband, on the grounds that she is a virgin,” he wrote, citing Exodus 22:17 and Yoruba customs.

According to him, biblical law supports this tradition: “If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must still pay the bride-price for virgins.”

He referenced the Lukumi Yoruba tradition where virginity is confirmed by a white cloth used during consummation.

“If the bride’s virginity is not proven by the aso funfun (white cloth on which the marriage is consummated on the bridal night), being stained, the marriage is not valid and the bride price will be returned.”

Omokri criticised practices where large sums of money or property are demanded in marriages involving non-virgins.

“The exorbitant demand for property and money by some Sub-Saharan African ethnicities, who I will not identify, for a woman who is not a virgin is not legally and technically a bride price. It is extortion!”

He backed his argument with scriptural references, saying the Bible consistently associates the term “bride” with virginity.

“If you read Scripture, the term ‘bride’ is never used for a woman who is not a virgin,” he said. “For example, Isaiah 62:5 is very clear on the matter. That verse says: ‘For as a young man marries a virgin, so your sons shall marry you; and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God will rejoice over you.’”

He added, “Also, Jeremiah 2:32 says: ‘Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire?’ These verses prove that bridehood is synonymous with virginity. Song of Solomon 4:12 is even more explicit. That verse says: ‘A locked up garden is my sister, my bride; a locked up spring, a sealed fountain.’”

Although he acknowledged that men can marry non-virgins, Omokri argued that such unions should not attract bride price.

“As a man, by African tradition and Scriptural law, you can marry a woman who is not a virgin. But such a woman is not a bride. And you should not pay any bride price for her.”

He cited examples from the Bible to support his claim. “You will notice that David paid a bride price for King Saul’s daughter in 1 Samuel 18:20-27. However, he did not pay a bride price for Abigail—1 Samuel 25:40-42.”

Warning of societal consequences, he added, “If we in Africa do not return to these traditions and continue the moral decadence in our society, where sex and sensuality are not curtailed, we will continue to be the dregs of the world, with high rates of sexually transmitted diseases.”

Omokri also condemned the widespread practice of white weddings in Africa, arguing they are neither Christian nor African in origin.

“A White wedding is not our culture in Africa, and it is not a Christian wedding. It is purely a European traditional wedding.”

News

NAFDAC Gives Nigerian Food Companies 18 Months To Cut Trans Fats

Published

47 minutes ago

October 3, 2025

Editor

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has set an 18-month grace period, effectively giving food companies until early 2026 before facing full enforcement of regulations to eliminate industrially produced Trans-Fatty Acids (TFA).

The initiative, launched as a comprehensive strategy and roadmap for TFA regulation, moves Nigeria from simply having the policy to enforcing its world-class standard: a regulatory limit of no more than two grams of industrially produced trans fat per 100 grams of total fat or oil.

The Director-General of NAFDAC, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, emphasised that the roadmap moves the country beyond policy creation to aggressive enforcement and implementation.

This was contained in the NAFDAC DG’s keynote speech posted on the agency’s official X (formerly Twitter) on Friday.

Adeyeye stressed the moral imperative of the Agency’s mission.

“The removal of industrially produced trans fats from the food chain is not only a technical achievement, but a moral imperative.

“Eliminating industrially produced trans fats is possible, achievable, necessary, and urgent,” Adeyeye stated, calling for national collaboration.

The moratorium period is designed to allow manufacturers to exhaust existing stock with outdated labels and reformulate their products to comply with the legal limit.

NAFDAC’s action targets a dangerous dietary risk factor strongly linked to cardiovascular disease, stroke, and premature death globally.

Adeyeye emphasised the significance of the move beyond technical compliance, noting, “The removal of industrially produced trans fats from the food chain is not only a technical achievement, but a moral imperative.”

This aggressive step builds upon Nigeria’s existing reputation; the country was recognised by the World Health Organisation in 2023 for adopting best-practice TFA elimination policies.

The new roadmap is key to securing WHO validation of Nigeria’s full TFA elimination programme, establishing the nation as a regional leader in public health interventions.

News

Mohbad’s Father Urges Lagos AG To Prosecute Wife, Nurse, Others

Published

1 hour ago

October 3, 2025

Editor

Joseph Aloba, the father of late singer Mohbad, has urged the Lagos State government to initiate criminal proceedings against individuals named in the coroner’s inquest into his son’s death.

Mohbad passed away on September 12, 2023, following an injection administered by auxiliary nurse Feyisayo Ogedengbe.

Despite being buried the next day, public outcry and ongoing investigations led to the exhumation of his body on September 21, 2023, for an autopsy.

In a letter dated October 3 and addressed to the attorney general of Lagos State through his lawyers, Aloba demanded that criminal charges be filed against those indicted within 14 days.

“Specifically, we refer to persons indicted by the coroner’s verdict hereunder: Miss Ogedengbe Fisayo, indicted for unlawful medical practice and gross medical negligence; and Mrs. Omowunmi Aloba, indicted for negligence,” the letter reads.

“This includes Ibrahim Owodunni, a.k.a. Prime Boy, and others who either facilitated the invitation of the auxiliary nurse or refused to take him promptly to a recognised medical facility for treatment.”

Mohbad’s father said he was concerned that despite the coroner’s clear verdict, no prosecutorial steps had been taken against those indicted nearly three months after the judgment.

He asked the attorney general to exercise prosecutorial powers within the 14 days, or, in the alternative, grant him and his legal team a fiat to prosecute the matter on behalf of the state.

“Our Client, as a bereaved father desirous of ensuring that justice is done and seen to be done, is deeply concerned that notwithstanding the clear indictments contained in the Coroner’s Verdict, no prosecutorial steps have been taken against the aforementioned persons since the delivery of the Verdict on 11th July, 2025,” the letter reads.

“The judicial observations amount to clear indictments warranting the prosecution of the said individuals in order to give full effect to the Coroner’s findings and recommendations, and to ensure that justice is manifestly and adequately served in this matter.

“We request that you exercise your prosecutorial power on the above subject matter within 14 Days Next, in view of the high sensitivity of this matter and the public attention and outrage it has generated.”

In October 2023, Naira Marley and Sam Larry were arrested over allegations linking them to Mohbad’s death, but were released on bail after five weeks in detention.

By February 2025, a magistrate court cleared them of any involvement in the singer’s demise.

News

Boko Haram Once Nominated Muhammadu Buhari As Negotiator – Jonathan Revealed

Published

6 hours ago

October 3, 2025

Editor

Former President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday, disclosed that Boko Haram insurgents once nominated the late ex-President Muhammadu Buhari as their negotiator.

Jonathan said Boko Haram chose Buhari to negotiate with the Nigerian government on their behalf.

He made the disclosure while speaking at the public presentation of Scars, a book authored by former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor (retd.), in Abuja.

Jonathan said the insurgents named Buhari after his then-administration set up several committees to explore dialogue with the group.

Jonathan said: “One of the committees we set up then, the Boko Haram nominated Buhari to lead their team to negotiate with the government.

“So I was feeling that, oh, if they nominated Buhari to represent them and had a discussion with the government committee, then when Buhari took over, it could have been an easy way to negotiate with them and they would have handed over their guns. But it was still there till today.”

Jonathan noted that the inability of Buhari to eradicate Boko Haram terrorists showed that the crisis was more complex than often portrayed.