NIGERIAN MARRIAGE ACT REVIEW (2)

Good day How are you doing? I'll continue with my review of the Nigerian Marriage Act. If you'll like a copy of the Marriage Act I'm reviewing, you can search the Internet or send an email to thechristianwomenstories@gmail,com.

We'll review Sections 18 to 24 in this post. Sections 18-20 address "Consent of Marriage in cases necessary". The Act sets the age of consent (for statutory marriage) as 21 for either party. If anyone who is under 21 wants to get married per the Act, the written consent of the father is required. If the father is dead or of an unsound mind or absent from Nigeria, the mother can give her written consent.

Frankly, this is one area I think can be improved on. I think the written consent of either parent of a minor should suffice. However, I won't lose sleep over it as I'm not convinced that anyone under 21 is mature enough to get married. Please feel free to share your thoughts on this point.

Section 19 addresses the case where the person required to give the written consent for the marriage of a minor is unable to write or understand English Language while Section 20 addresses cases where there is no parent or guardian capable of giving written consent for the marriage of a minor.

Section 21 addresses the case of marriage in a licensed place of worship. Any RECOGNISED minister of the church, denomination or body to which such a place of worship belongs and according to the rites or usages of marriage observed in such church, denomination or body, provided the wedding is celebrated between 8am and 6pm in the presence of two or more witnesses besides the officiating minister.

There's quite a lot packed in Section 21. Please ensure the officiating minister is a RECOGNIZED minister of the denomination that should be LICENSED to perform marriage ceremonies. I think you need to be careful with the vows you're exchanging too. If you plan to write your own vows, please make sure it's a regular practice for couples to do so. Don't tweak the church's rites or usages of marriage and end up with an invalid marriage. Ensure your marriage takes place between 8AM and 6PM. Make sure there are AT LEAST 2 other persons apart from the officiating minister (See you don't need 1000 guests, lol).

According to Section 22, a minister is not to celebrate a marriage if he knows of a JUST IMPEDIMENT to such a marriage or if the couple do not deliver to him/her the registrar's certificate or the license issued under Section 13 of the Marriage Act. Any minister who goes ahead to celebrate such a marriage is liable to a jail term but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Section 23 of the Act addresses the building(s) where a minister can celebrate a marriage. The building has to either be licensed by the Minister (of Interior) or stated on the license issued per Section 13 of the Act. If you plan to use a building that has not been licensed by the Minister (of Interior), ensure that the marriage license CLEARLY states the building...

Section 24 applies to Registrars and I guess if you're a registrar, you should already be aware of this Act.

I'm only sharing highlights. I hope you do get yourself a copy of the Marriage Act to 1) verify my claims, 2) raise points of discussion and 3) make informed choices. Let me also state that I'm not a lawyer, so if you believe you should seek legal redress, please discuss with a lawyer before you institute legal proceedings.

Please read through these sections and let's discuss in the comments.

I wish you the best. Enjoy your day.