Punch
Reports:
A
Lagos High Court has barred local government areas from conducting marriages
across the country.
The
court, in a judgment, declared that the Local Government Unified Marriage
Certificate was unknown to law and therefore unconstitutional, null and void.
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 our correspondent on Sunday in Abuja.
The
plaintiff, Olamide Babalola, representing 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.
The
plaintiff had sought a declaration that the first defendant did not have the
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 prayed for a declaration that the second defendant’s Local Government
Unified Marriage Certificate was unknown to law and unconstitutional.
He
equally 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 first defendant did not have the powers 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.”
Citing
Imunze vs Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2014 LPELR 22354 (SC) and Onochie vs
Odogwu, 2006 Nigeria Weekly Law Report, (Part 975) 65, Harrison stated that
while registration of marriage is regulated by local government being under the
concurrent list, formation of marriage is under the exclusive list within the
domain of the Federal Government regulated by the Federal Ministry of Internal
Affairs-item 6 of 2nd schedule of 1999 constitution.
The
judge pointed out that a marriage had been declared invalid by the Supreme
Court on the grounds that it was not in line with Form E as provided by the
Marriage Act.
“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.
The
court however added that the marriages conducted by local governments and
issued with the certificates, which are not in conformity with Form E, “will by
virtue of Section 34 of the Marriage Act be regarded as good and valid in law
to all intents and purposes.”
It
“believes that there should be a re-issuance of the proper certificate to all
persons in possession of the ‘invalid’ certificates.”
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.”
The
judge said the second defendant and its branches issued their own form known as
the Local Government Unified Marriage Certificate, which was also issued to the
claimant by the first defendant.
Following
the judgment, the Federal Government has written to the various embassies in
the country not to recognise marriages conducted by local governments.
A
director in the Ministry of Interior, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said
the embassies were asked not to issue visas to applicants with local government
marriage certificates in line with the court order.
“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.
The
Director of Press, Ministry of Interior, Willy Bassey, described the court
judgment as a welcome development, which he said had put paid to “the illegal
acts by the local governments.”
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