BY EMMA OKENYI
BENIN CITY – There are strong indications that disagreement over culture and traditional beliefs are tearing members of a family apart in Benin City, Edo State.
This came to the fore following the refusal of a housewife, Mrs Amadin to accede to demand for her and her daughters to be circumcised in line with an age long tradition that has lasted for over a century.
Mrs Amadin, a mother of three, two girls and a boy, it was gathered, is married to one Osagie Amadin.
Trouble for her, it was gathered, started when her husband, as the eldest child was asked to present himself for the traditional rites of initiation into the family’s secret cult, in line with the age long practice.
Part of the initiation ceremony was the circumcision of the wife and daughters of the eldest son and the mutilated parts used for rituals.
The refusal, with her husband’s consent did not go down well with her inlaws who see her action as an affront on them.
Their refusal, it was reliably gathered borders on health ground and their christian religious belief.
This anti-cultural act was said to have resulted in a cold war which posed a serious danger to her life and that of her husband and children due to constant threat.
As at press time, Mrs Amadin and her husband were said to have resorted to legal means to seek redress.
They could however not be reached to get their views on the matter.
A member of the extended family who gave his name as John faulted the claim of an alleged threat to Mrs Amadin and her husband.
He however said that the action of the couple was a taboo capable of incurring the wrath of the family.
