Groom abandons bride on wedding day

Guests were shocked at the weeked at a Church in Gwagwalada, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), when a 42-year-old bridegroom refused to show up for his wedding.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the bride, the officiating priest, family members, friends and well-wishers waited in vain at the church premises.

A member of the groom’s family, who spoke to NAN on condition of anonymity, said the groom had paid the bride price of her bride in 2002.

He said: "But the groom went to the parents of his bride in 2005 to ask for a refund, saying he was no longer interested in the marriage.

"He later went back to the bride’s parents to repay the bride price, claiming that the scale had fallen off his eyes.

"And so, palns were made for the church wedding, with the groom fully in charge, dancing on the bachelor’s eve.

"But to our surprise, with the reception venue fully decorated and the church already filled to capacity with the choir ministering, the groom was nowhere to be found.

"Information later got to us that he drove to the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, where he demanded to be placed on admission against the doctor’s advice.

"The groom, however, told some family members who rushed to the hospital to check him that he was no longer interested in the marriage."

The source added that when the priest visited the hospital, the groom told him that he decided to discontinue with the wedding because he had known no peace since he paid the bride price.