ABUJA — Former Senator Emmanuel Dangana Ocheja, who represented Kogi East in the National Assembly, has wed 18-year-old Winifred in a traditional marriage ceremony held in Abuja.
Reports and video footage circulating online show the couple dancing during the traditional rites. Ocheja, a lawyer and principal of Dangana Global Legal Services (formerly Dangana, Musa & Co) with offices in Abuja, Kano and Lagos, is described in the accounts as approximately 74 years old.
Winifred is identified only by her first name in the circulating reports. Some accounts claim she is a close friend of one of the former senator’s granddaughters. The ceremony, a traditional wedding, captures the pair captured in celebratory moments shared on social media and reported by society platforms.
Ocheja hails from Idah in Kogi State and belongs to the royal establishment of the Igala Kingdom. He is a direct descendant of HRM Aiyegba Oma Idoko through his father, Mallam Yusuf Okpanachi Ocheja.
His mother, Princess Ajuma Ocheja (née Obaje), was a sister to the late Atta of Igala, HRM Dr Aliyu Obaje. He attended St. Boniface Primary School in Idah, Our Lady of Schools in Anyigba, and earned both a Diploma in Law (1978) and an LL.B (1981) from Ahmadu Bello University before being called to the Nigerian Bar in 1982.
He served as Senator for Kogi East from 2011 to 2015, initially under the Peoples Democratic Party before later aligning with the All Progressives Congress. Older public records list him as married to Mrs A.P. Ocheja.
The marriage has drawn public attention online due to the significant age difference. Nigerian law sets the minimum age for marriage at 18 under the Child Rights Act in jurisdictions that have adopted it, making both parties legal adults. Details of the exact date, venue beyond Abuja, guest list or any accompanying formal or religious rites have not been widely confirmed by mainstream outlets at the time of reporting.
Video clips of the traditional ceremony continue to circulate, showing the couple participating in customary celebrations. No official statement from Ocheja or his family addressing the marriage had been issued in initial coverage.
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