A Chadian minister has been detained by police following reports over his marriage to 14-year-old girl who is considered under-aged in the African country.
Azzai Mahamat Hassane’s lawyer has denied that his client’s wife is underage.
“Our client has not married an under-aged girl. She is of legal age and it is no true that the girl was forced into the marriage” he said
French-language news broadcaster RFI quotes a state prosecutor as saying Mr Hassane married the girl in a “customary ceremony” in 2017 when he travelled to the western town of Nokou with a political delegation.
Marriage in Chad under the age of 18 is illegal and people found to have married minors or offered underage children for marriage face prison.
