Nigeria is as pluralistic in its legal systems as it is in its ethnic composition. Basically, there are three legal systems in Nigeria i.e. English law, customary law and Islamic law (also known as Sharia law).
Each of these laws has its marriage system, although they have their differences and similarities. All three marriage systems are equal at least in terms of their recognition as a marriage that anyone who wishes could legally enter into in Nigeria.
It is possible for a person to enter into two marriages, one under customary law and the other under Islamic law, but this is unacceptable as far as English law is concerned.
It is important at this point to take a look at each of the marriages with some details.
Marriage under English law
The contracting of marriages in accordance with the principles of English law is governed by the Nigerian Marriage Act. As early as 1860 the court had, in hyde vs hide, defined marriage as “the voluntary union for life of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others”. This has been accepted as the meaning of marriage under English law ever since. This type of marriage clearly abhors polygamy.
For a marriage to be valid and qualified as an English law marriage in Nigeria, the below listed conditions stipulated by the Marriage Act must be met.
Conditions for valid marriage under English law
- The parties to the marriage must have agreed to be husband and wife.
- The man must have filed a notice with the Marriage Registry within the area where the marriage is to take place, stating his intention to marry.
- The registrar then enters the notice in the Marriage Notice Book.
- The notice remains open for a minimum of 21 days before the Registrar can issue the Marriage Certificate.
- During the 21 days, anyone who wishes can enter a warning as an objection to the planned marriage.
- At this point, the Registrar will refer the warning to the High Court, which will determine the fate of the warning one way or another.
- When the warning is found valid by the High Court, the Registrar may not issue the marriage certificate until the objection raised in the warning ceases to exist.
- When the Superior Court invalidates the warning, the Registrar will proceed to issue the Marriage Certificate. The issuance of the Marriage Certificate must not be earlier than 21 days nor later than 3 months from the moment of filling out a notification of intention to marry by the man.
Other factors that may prevent the issuance of the marriage certificate
Except for the objection that the preventive annotation may contain, the Registrar must not issue the Marriage Certificate in any of the following situations:
- when neither party has resided in the area where the marriage is to be celebrated 15 days before the issuance of the marriage certificate
- when the Registrar is satisfied that one of the parties is a minor (i.e. under 16 years of age)
- when the consent of one party to the marriage is obtained through fraud, dress, undue influence, mistaken identity, or a party unable to consent due to mental health issues
- where the parties are related by blood as cousins
- where one of the parties is already married either under English or common law.
marriage celebration
The marriage itself can take place in either of two places, i.e. the Marriage Registry or a place of worship.
In the case of Marriage Registration, the following conditions apply:
- must take place before the registrar
- there must be at least two witnesses, and
- it must take place between 10 am and 4 pm.
While in the case of a place of worship, the rules are these:
- must be conducted by a recognized minister of the religious organization in question
- the place of worship must be a place licensed under the Marriage Act to perform the marriage
- there must be a minimum of two witnesses
- before celebrating the marriage, the minister must be sure that the parties have obtained the marriage certificate
- the marriage must take place between 8 am and 6 pm
- the minister must send a copy of the marriage certificate to the marriage registrar within 7 days of the marriage
The English law marriage is the most complicated to conclude, as will be seen later in the article, compared to the other two marriage systems in Nigeria.
Common law marriage
The common law marriage is the easiest marriage to enter into in Nigeria. It is a marriage celebrated according to the customs and traditions of any local Nigerian tribe. In terms of marriage, the various tribes in Nigeria have much in common.
Essential Elements of a Common Law Marriage
- Agreement between a man and a woman to be husband and wife
- Parental consent, especially from the woman’s side.
- Payment of the dowry by the man to the woman’s family
- Delivery of the woman to the man.
Once the above conditions are met, a common law marriage is validly contracted. This marriage accommodates polygamy so that a man can marry as many wives as he wishes. In fact, there is no limit to the number of women a man can marry according to the various native Nigerian customs.
Marriage according to Islamic law
Marriage according to Islamic law refers to a marriage entered into by two Muslims (ie, a man and a woman) in accordance with the dictates of Sharia law. Islamic law allows a Muslim man to marry up to 4 wives as long as he ensures fairness, fairness and justice between them.
In order to have a marriage validly entered into according to Islamic law, the following must be fulfilled:
- the parties to the marriage must have agreed to marry each other
- the consent of the woman’s father or uncle or any male family member is required
- the man must give a gift (it can be money or an article) as a dowry. The monetary value of what is given must not be less than N5000. there is no maximum
- the celebration of the marriage itself must be witnessed by a minimum of two witnesses.
Once the above requirements are met, a marriage is considered to have taken place under Islamic law.
What I planned to do with this article is to present a succinct picture of the different marriages that Nigerians and non-Nigerians residing in Nigeria can enter into depending on the preference of the individual.
The only marriage that is not free for all is the marriage of Islamic law, which can only take place between a Muslim man and a Muslim woman. However, a Muslim man can marry a woman belonging to “the people of the book”. This refers to Jewish or Christian women.
Apart from faithful Christians and Jews, a Muslim man cannot marry any other faith. It may be interesting to hear that the opposite is the fate of a Muslim woman. She can only marry a fellow Muslim. This smacks of a subtle strategy to win more converts into the Islamic fold.
Having said that, I think Nigeria is one of the countries where the multiplicity of marriage options is well catered for. Although marriage between people of the same sex or people who are closely related by blood is not allowed and there are no indications of that happening in the distant future.
It’s quite amusing to note that some people qualify marriage under English law as a “legal marriage” as if other marriages were not. This is bad. In fact, all three marriages are legal.
