Enchantment Court docket nullifies order granting native govts unique proper to conduct marriages

The Court docket of Enchantment in Lagos has overturned a judgement granting unique rights to native governments to conduct statutory marriages in Nigeria.

The appellate courtroom mentioned each native governments and the Federal Marriage Registries can maintain marriages and difficulty certificates to {couples}.

4 native governments – Eti-Osa (Lagos State), Gor (Edo State), Owerri Municipal (Imo State) and Port-Harcourt (Rivers State) – had sued the Minister of Inside and the Legal professional Normal of the Federation and Minister of Justice, in search of to have the unique proper to manage marriages.

The plaintiffs sued the federal authorities on the Federal Excessive Court docket in Lagos.

Delivering judgement on the swimsuit on the trial courtroom in December 2021, the decide, Daniel Osiagor, restrained the Minister of Inside who operates the Federal Marriage Registries “from additional contracting marriages underneath the Marriage Act … Legal guidelines of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.”

Dissatisfied with Mr Osiagor’s choice, the Legal professional Normal and the Inside Minister filed their separate appeals on the matter.

The AGF, represented by Tijjani Gazali, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), urged the Court docket of Enchantment to carry that the trial courtroom was improper to have conferred unique rights to the native governments to conduct marriages and difficulty certificates to {couples}.

Judgement

In a replica of the judgement delivered on 2 August however seen by PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday, a three-member panel of the Court docket of Enchantment, Lagos, led by Olukayode Bada, held that neither the native councils nor the federal authorities have the unique proper to conduct statutory marriages.

Within the lead choice, Abubakar Umar, citing a 2002 judgement of the Federal Excessive Court docket on an identical dispute, mentioned, “It’s my thought-about view that the pronouncement of the courtroom … in 2002 … doesn’t confer both” the native governments or the Inside Minister “with the unique rights to conduct, rejoice or contract marriages.”

Mr Umar added that “any allusion to unique rights to conduct marriages” by the events “is just not solely inconsistent with the choice of” the Federal Excessive Court docket in 2002 “however at variance with the extant provision of the Marriage Act and the subsidiary legislations…”

The appellate courtroom agreed with the trial courtroom that the “celebration and contraction of marriages in native authorities councils are legitimate.”

“The decrease courtroom was in manifest error when it granted an injunction restraining the fifth respondent (Inside Minister) from additional contracting, celebrating, issuing marriage certificates or registering marriages inside native authorities areas,” the Enchantment Court docket mentioned.

Mr Umar cautioned in opposition to arrogating to themselves the “unique powers to conduct, rejoice and register statutory marriages.”

The appellate courtroom additional refused the native governments’ request to order the Inside Minister to return all marriage charges obtained from {couples} since 2002.

The Justice famous that the swimsuit instituted by the native governments didn’t represent an abuse of the courtroom course of as earlier argued by the AGF in his briefs.

Background

There was a protracted dispute between native authorities and the federal authorities over whom to conduct statutory marriages in Nigeria.

The difficulty bought to a head when embassies in Nigeria refused to recognise marriage certificates issued by native authorities councils, citing credibility points.

In granting visas to married {couples}, embassies and international organisations solely recognise marriage certificates issued by the Federal Marriage Registries in Abuja, Lagos and different main cities in Nigeria.

Because of this, the 4 native councils in Lagos, Edo, Imo and Rivers States, lodged the swimsuit on the Federal Excessive Court docket in Lagos, praying it confer unique jurisdiction on them to conduct marriages.

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In an originating summons filed on 12 April 2019, the plaintiffs by their lawyer, Michael Roger, urged the courtroom to grant an “order of perpetual injunction restraining” the Inside Minister or his brokers “from additional contracting marriages underneath the Marriage Act…of the Federation of Nigeria.”

In addition they sought an “order restraining” the Inside Minister or his brokers “from additional celebrating marriages underneath the Marriage Act of the Federation… inside the plaintiffs’ native authorities councils.”

“An order of courtroom directing the first defendant to return all marriage certificates issued inside the respective plaintiffs’ native authorities councils since 2002.

“An order directing the first defendant to return all charges paid by {couples} since 2002 to the plaintiffs’ marriage Registries for re-issuance.

“An order of courtroom sealing all of the Federal Marriage Registries established by the first defendant within the candidates’ native governments in Nigeria.”