Bride Price for Virgins Only – Reno Omokri’s Shocking Advice Divides Nigerians

Former presidential aide and social commentator, Reno Omokri, has urged men to refrain from paying bride price for women who are not virgins.

In a tweet shared on Sunday, Omokri argued that the custom of bride price was originally intended for brides who maintained their virginity.

He emphasized that both African traditions and biblical teachings associate bride price with virginity, asserting that any financial or material demand outside this context amounts to extortion rather than a legitimate cultural practice.

Citing Exodus 22:17 and the Lukumi Yoruba’s aso asa Ibale tradition, Omokri explained that if a bride’s virginity is not confirmed—symbolized by the white cloth (aso funfun) stained on the wedding night—the marriage could be invalid, and the bride price returned.

He wrote:

“In African culture and Jewish law, bride price refers to the money or property a groom pays to the bride’s family on the condition that she is a virgin. If the woman is not a virgin, any such demand ceases to be bride price and becomes extortion.”

Omokri concluded by condemning what he described as excessive demands by some Sub-Saharan African communities for women who do not meet the virginity standard, calling it a distortion of cultural and scriptural principles.