When Bride Price Becomes Extortion: The Ugly Side of Nigerian Weddings

Weddings in Nigeria often follow a scripted ritual. Families claim they fed, clothed, and schooled the bride. Yet basic child care is a legal duty under the Child Rights Act, not a gift deserving payment. Original customs—Yoruba white cloth, Igbo paternity proofs, Kalabari lineage checks—served to verify virginity and bloodline. Today those guarantees are gone. Parents still demand cash for a service they never delivered. By law, forced bride price is unenforceable. The Constitution, the Marriage Act, and the VAPP Act criminalize coercion and extortion. Demanding payment at a wedding has no legal standing—and no claim to be true tradition.

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