– Lagos High Court has barred local government areas from issuing marriage certificate
– The court said it is unlawful and unconstitutional
– She refused to nullify all marriages conducted so far by local government areas
A Lagos High Court has declared that the Local Government Unified Marriage Certificate is illegal since it is unknown to law.
The court says such marriage certificate is unconstitutional and consequently barred local government areas from conducting marriages across the country.
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The court, in a judgment, declared that the Local Government Unified Marriage Certificate was unconstitutional, null and void.
Lagos High Court has barred local government areas from issuing marriage certificate
A Certified True Copy of the judgment by Justice I. O. Harrison of Court 37, General Civil Division of the Lagos Judicial Division, dated May 15, 2017, in suit no LD/1343GCM/2016, was obtained by Punch.
Olamide Babalola, a plaintiff, who stood for himself and other recipients of modified marriage certificates from the local governments, had dragged the Ikeja Local Government and Registered Trustees of Association of Local Governments of Nigeria before the court over the modified marriage certificate issued by the first and second defendants.
Babalola asked the court to declare that Local governments have no powers to issue modified or customised marriage certificates different from the one provided in Form E under Section 24 of the Marriage Act Laws of Federation of Nigeria,1990.
Babalola also wanted a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, their agents, officers, employees and representatives from further issuing modified or altered marriage certificates apart from the form as provided under Form E (1st schedule) and Section 24 of the Marriage Act, LFN, 1990.
Harrison, in her judgment, declared that the local governments have no right to issue modified or customised marriage certificates different from the one provided in Form E under section 24 of the Marriage Act.
She said: “The court thus orders as follows: declaration that the second defendant’s ‘Local Government Unified Marriage Certificate’ is unknown to our law, unconstitutional, null and void.
“A perpetual injunction, restraining the defendants their agents, officers, employees and representatives from further issuing modified or altered marriage certificates apart from the form as provided under Form E (1st schedule) and Section 24 of the Marriage Act, LFN, 1990.
“A perpetual injunction, restraining the second defendant, their agents, officers, employees and representatives from further issuing Modified Local Government Unified Marriage Certificates.”
Going further, she added that:
“It is thus trite that the local and state government cannot make separate arrangements outside that provided for in the Marriage Act, that is Form E,” Harrison ruled.
She said that marriage being an Exclusive List item, was under the jurisdiction of the federal government, which is regulated by the Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs.
However, she refused to nullify all marriages conducted so far by local government areas.
She directed such certificates to be surrendered and be replaced by fresh ones that would be issued in compliance with the law.
She “declared that there should be a re-issuance of the proper certificate to all persons in possession of the ‘invalid’ certificates.”
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The judgment read in part: “The court will further consequentially order that all such modified marriage certificates issued by the first and second defendants be surrendered to the appropriate local government where the marriage was conducted and appropriate certificate, in line with Form E, should be reissued to the claimants herein and all other concerned persons.”
“It should be noted that while registration of marriages is regulated by local government being under the Concurrent List, formation of marriage is under the Exclusive Legislative List within the domain of the federal government regulated by the Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs – item 6 of 2nd Schedule of 1999 Constitution,” she said.
She went further to explain that: “A marriage had been declared invalid by the Supreme Court on the ground that the marriage certificate was not in line with Form E as provided by the Marriage Act.”
Consequently, reports have it that following the judgment, the Federal Government has written to the various embassies in the country to stop recognising marriages conducted by local governments.
According to a director in the Ministry of Interior who spoke to Punch on condition of anonymity: “Most of the marriages conducted by local government registries are sham and were merely used to obtain visas by desperate Nigerians. We have written to the embassies not to give out visas based on such marriage certificates,” he said.
Meanwhile, a Nigerian family has welcomed a child many years after marriage and when all hopes were becoming dashed.
The father, identified as Deacon Owoade, 62, and his 57-year-old wife had the experience of child birth for the first time many years after they were married.
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