A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ruled that the federal government’s conduct of marriages is unconstitutional, declaring all solemnisations of unions at the Ikoyi marriage registry in Lagos to be illegal and invalid.
The court, presided over by Justice D. E. Osiagor, ruled that the provisions of the 1999 Constitution only authorized local government marriage registries to do so (as amended).
He contended that, under the law, the conduct of marriages and the issuance of certificates were statutorily the responsibility of local governments.
The judge went on to say that the federal government’s actions, through the Ministry of Interior, in operating marriage registries were beyond their authority, and that all marriages conducted by federal marriage registries or their agents were illegal and invalid.
As a result, the LGAs insisted that the federal government, through the Ministry of Interior, was usurping their statutorily granted powers to register marriages.
This prompted the Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State to seek a court order to take over the popular Ikoyi Marriage Registry operated by the Ministry of Interior, claiming that the federal government, through the ministry, had no business operating a marriage registry.
The Ministry of Interior and the Attorney General of the Federation were named as defendants in the FHC/ LS/CS/816/18 suit, which accused the ministry of usurping the power of local governments to conduct marriages and issue marriage certificates.
It also asked the court to declare that the federal government has no business conducting marriages or issuing marriage certificates and, as a result, to order the closure of all marriage registries opened and operated by the federal government.
As a result, the LGAs insisted that the federal government, through the Ministry of Interior, was usurping their statutorily granted powers to register marriages.
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This prompted the Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State to seek a court order to take over the popular Ikoyi Marriage Registry operated by the Ministry of Interior, claiming that the federal government, through the ministry, had no business operating a marriage registry.
According to Folami, the court’s decision was supreme and legally binding on all, and that all marriages conducted and registered in any of the 20 local governments were valid and in accordance with the marriage act.
He specifically stated that the judgment would put an end to the perception of Ikoyi Marriage Registry’s superiority over local government registries.
“We will use every available platform in the state’s five divisions to sensitize and inform our people about this latest development – from Epe to Ikorodu, Badagry, Ikeja, and Lagos Island,” he said.
Rather than complying with the court’s decision, the Federal Ministry of Interior went ahead and established more marriage registries across the country.
