Nigeria's Senate has ordered an investigation into reports that one of its members has married a 13-year-old Egyptian girl

Ahmad Sani Yerima, 49, is alleged to have married her at the national mosque in Abuja. Senators called for the investigation after receiving a petition by protesting women's groups, who believe Sani has broken the law. The senator has not spoken publicly about the reports of his marriage. Nigeria's human rights commission has already begun an investigation. Sani was the governor of Zamfara state, where he oversaw the introduction of Sharia law - for the first time in a northern state - in 1999. The senator is reported to have paid a dowry of $100,000 to the child's parents - and to have brought the girl into Nigeria from Egypt. Newspaper reports have also accused the senator of having previously married a 15-year-old girl in 2006.