Reno Omokri says bride price should apply only to virgins, calling other cases cultural extortion.
Quoting the Bible and African traditions, he urged a return to values that promote sexual purity.
Former presidential aide Reno Omokri has shared his view that bride price should only be paid for virgins. He argued that demanding it for a non-virgin is equivalent to extortion.
He expressed this view in a detailed post shared on his official X account on Sunday. He argued that many Africans wrongly use the terms “dowry” and “bride price” as if they mean the same thing, when they do not.
He explained that dowry refers to the money or property given by a bride’s parents to her as she goes into her marriage. He noted that this tradition is mostly found in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, and supports the biblical idea that a wife is meant to assist her husband.
He explained that, unlike dowry, bride price is a payment made by the groom to the bride’s family, but only when the bride is a virgin. To back his point, Omokri referenced Exodus 22:17, which states, “If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must still pay the bride-price for virgins.”
He also mentioned cultural practices such as the Lukumi Yoruba tradition, where a white cloth used on the wedding night is checked for bloodstains to confirm virginity. If no blood is found on the cloth, the marriage may be deemed invalid, and the bride price returned to the groom’s family.
Omokri went on to describe the current practice of demanding large sums for non-virgins as dishonest. He said, “The exorbitant demand for property and money by some Sub-Saharan African ethnicities… for a woman who is not a virgin is not legally and technically a bride price. It is extortion.”
He also mentioned biblical figures such as King David, pointing out that David paid a bride price for Saul’s daughter but not for Abigail.
According to Omokri, the Bible never used the term “bride” for a woman who is not a virgin. He pointed to Isaiah 62:5 and Jeremiah 2:32 as examples.
He ended his message by calling on Africans to return to traditional and biblical values to help reduce the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. He also criticized the widespread use of White weddings in Africa, saying it is not part of African or Christian tradition.
“White weddings are not our culture. If we must adopt them, let us do so properly. In Europe, it is the bride’s father who pays for the wedding, not the groom or his family,” he said.
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