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MARRIAGE ACT
MARRIAGE ACT
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
SECTION
1. Short title.
2. Interpretation.
3. Maniage districts.
4. Appointment of registrars.
5. Offices of registrars.
6. Places of worship to be licensed for celebration of marriages.
Preliminaries to marriage
7. Notice of marriage.
8. Signature of notice by person unable to write or to understand English language.
9. Registrars to supply forms of notices.
10. Notice to be entered in marriage notice book and published.
11. (1) Registrar to issue certificate on proof of conditions by affidavit.
(3) Explanations to be given.
12. Marriage to take place within three months after date of notice.
13. Minister may grant licence to marry.
14. Caveat may be entered against issue of certificate.
15. When caveat entered question to be referred to court.
16. Removal of caveat.
17. Compensation and costs.
Consent to marriage in certain cases necessary
18. Consent to marriage of minors.
19. Signature or consent by person unable to write or to understand English language.
20. Consent where no parent or guardian capable of consenting.
Celebration of marriage
21. Marriage in licensed place of worship. Proviso as to times and witnesses.
22. Minister not to celebrate marriage if impediment, nor without licence, etc.
23. Where minister may celebrate marriage.
24. Registrars to be provided with books of certificates.
25. Entries to be made in marriage certificate.
26. Signature of certificate. Duplicate certificate to be sent to registrar.
27. Maniage in a registrar’s office. Form to be observed.
28. Marriage certificate to be signed.
29. Maniage under licence.
Registry and evidence of marriages
SECTION
30. Marriage certificate to be registered.
31. Correction of clerical errors in marriage certi ficates.
32. Evidence of marriages.
Invalid marriages
33. Invalid marriages.
34. Marriages under this Act valid.
35. Native marriages.
36. Fees.
Fees
37. Fees may be remitted on ground of poverty.
38. Minister may receive customary fees.
Offences and penalties
39. Marriage with a person previously married.
40. Making false declarations, etc., for marriage.
41. False pretence of impediment to marriage,
42. Unlawfully performing marriage ceremony.
43. Wilful neglect of duty to fill up or transmit certificate of marriage.
44. Personation in marriage.
45. Fictitious marriage.
46. Contracting marriage under this Act when already manied by native law.
47. Contracting marriage by native law when already married by this Act.
48. Marrying minor without prescribed consent.
Foreign marriages
49. Validity of foreign marriages.
50. Marriage officers.
51. Marriage officer’s office.
52. Act to apply subject to modifications.
53. Modifications referred to in section 52.
Forms
54. Forms.
55. Repeals.
Repeals
SCHEDULE FiRST SCHEDULE
Forms
SECOND SCHEDULE MARRIAGE ACT
An Act to make provisions for the celebration of marriages.
[18 of 1914. 18 of 1916. 23 of 1922. 58 of 1933. 1 of 1958. L.N. 131 of 1954.
1 of 1955.]
1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Marriage Act.
2. Interpretation
[Commencement.]
[31st December, 1914]
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires‐
“district” means a marriage district constituted under this Act;
“Principal Registrar” means the Principal Registrar of Marriages;
“registrar” means a registrar of marriages, and includes a deputy registrar when act‐ ing as a registrar.
3. Marriage districts
The President shall, by order published in the Federal Gazette, divide Nigeria into districts, for the purposes of this Act, and may, from time to time, by like order, alter the districts.
[L.N. 120 of 1957.]
4. Appointment of registrars
(1) There may, from time to time, be appointed a fit and proper person to be the Principal Registrar of Marriages.
[L.N. 112 of 1964.]
(2) There may likewise be appointed a fit and proper person to be the registrar of marriages for each marriage district, and may also appoint a deputy registrar of marriages for any district to act in the absence or during the illness or incapacity of the registrar.
5. Offices of registrars
Every registrar shall have an office at such place as the Minister shall direct. The of‐ fice of the Principal Registrar shall be at such place as the Minister shall direct.
[58 of 1933. 131 of 1954. L.N. 130 of 1957.]
6. Places of worship to be licensed for celebration of marriages
(1) The Minister may license any place of public worship to be a place for the cele‐ bration of marriages, and may at any time cancel such license; in either case he shall give notice thereof in the Federal Gazette.
[L.N. 131 of 1954.]
(2) Every place of public worship licensed as a place for the celebration of marriages under any enactment repealed by this Act shall be deemed to be licensed under this Act unless and until the Minister shall cancel the license in respect thereof.
[L.N. 112 of 1964.]
Preliminaries to marriage
7. Notice of marriage
Whenever any persons desire to marry, one of the parties to the intended marriage shall sign and give to the registrar of the district in which the marriage is intended to take place a notice as in Form A in the First Schedule.
[First Schedule.]
8. Signature of notice by person unable to write or to understand English language
If the person giving such notice is unable to write or is insufficiently acquainted with the English language, or both, then it shall be sufficient if he places his mark or cross thereto in the presence of some literate person who shall attest the same as in Form B in the First Schedule.
[First Schedule.]
9. Registrars to supply forms of notice
Every registrar shall supply forms of notice gratuitously to any person applying for the same.
10. Notice to be entered in marriage notice book and published
Upon receipt of such notice the registrar shall cause the same to be entered in a book to be called the marriage notice book, which may be inspected during office hours with‐ out fee. He shall also publish such notice by causing a copy of the same to be affixed on the outer door of his office, and to be kept exposed there until he grants his certificate as hereinafter mentioned, or until three months shall have elapsed.
11. Registrar to issue certificate on proof of conditions by affidavit
(1) The registrar, at any time after the expiration of twenty‐one days and before the expiration of three months from the date of the notice, upon payment of the prescribed fee, shall thereupon issue his certificate as in Form C in the First Schedule:
[First Schedule.]
Provided always that he shall not issue such certificate until he has been satisfied by affidavit‐
(a) that one of the parties has been resident within the district in
which the marriage is intended to be celebrated at least fifteen days preceding the granting of the certificate;
(b) that each of the parties to the intended marriage (not being a widower or widow) is twenty‐one years old, or that if he or she is under that age, the consent hereinafter made requisite has been obtained in writing and is annexed to such affidavit;
(c) that there is not any impediment of kindred or affinity, or any other lawful hindrance to the marriage;
(d) that neither of the parties to the intended marriage is married by customary law to any person other than the person with whom such marriage is proposed to be contracted.
(2) Such affidavit may be sworn before a registrar, or before an administrative officer or before a recognised minister of religion.
Explanations to be given
(3) The person taking such affidavit shall explain to the person making the same what are the prohibited degrees of kindred and affinity, and the penalties which may be incurred under sections 42 and 43 of this Act, and if he wilfully fails to make such expla‐ nation, he shall be liable to imprisonment for two years.
(4) The person taking such affidavit shall sign a declaration written thereon, that he
has given the explanation required by this section to the person making such affidavit and that such person has appeared fully to understand the same.
12. Marriage to take place within three months after date of notice
If the marriage shall not take place within three months after the date of the notice, the notice and all proceedings consequent thereupon shall be void; and fresh notice shall be given before the parties can lawfully marry.
13. Minister may grant license to marry
The Minister upon proof being made to him by affidavit that there is no lawful im‐ pediment to the proposed marriage, and that the necessary consent, if any, to such mar‐ riage has been obtained, may, if he shall think fit, dispense with the giving of notice, and with the issue of the certificate of the registrar, and may grant his license, which shall be according to Form D in the First Schedule, authorising the celebration of a marriage be‐ tween the parties named in such license by a registrar, or by a recognised minister of some religious denomination or body.
[1 of 1958. L.N. 1 of 1955. L.N. 112 of 1964. First Schedule. Form D.]
14. Caveat may be entered against issue of certificate
(1) Any person whose consent to a marriage is hereby required, or who may know of any just cause why the marriage should not take place, may enter a caveat against the issue of the registrar’s certificate, by writing at any time before the issue thereof the word “Forbidden”, opposite to the entry of the notice in the marriage notice book, and append‐ ing thereto his name and place of abode, and the grounds upon which he claims to forbid the issue of the certificate, and the registrar shall not issue his certificate until such caveat shall be removed as hereinafter is provided.
(2) In the case of an illiterate person, such caveat shall be entered on his behalf in the marriage notice book by the registrar on the verbal notice of such person.
15. When caveat entered question to be referred to court
Whenever a caveat is entered against the issue of a certificate, the registrar shall refer the matter to a judge of the High Court of the State, and such judge shall thereupon sum‐ mon the parties to the intended marriage, and the person by whom the caveat is entered,
to appear before him in the High Court of the State, and shall require the person by whom the caveat is entered to show cause why the registrar should not issue his certificate, and shall hear and determine the case in a summary way subject to a right of appeal to the Court of Appeal.
16. Removal of caveat
If the judge decides that the certificate ought to be issued, he shall remove the caveat by cancelling the word “Forbidden” in the marriage notice book, in ink, and by writing in such marriage notice book, immediately below such entry and cancellation, the words “Cancelled by order of the High Court” and signing his name thereto. The registrar shall then issue his certificate and the marriage may proceed as if the caveat had not been en‐ tered, but the time that has elapsed between the entering and the removal of the caveat shall not be computed in the period of three months specified in sections 11 and 12 of this Act.
[58 of 1933. L.N. 47 of 1955.]
17. Compensation and costs
The judge may award compensation and costs to the party injured, if it appears that a caveat was entered on insufficient grounds.
[58 of 1933.]
Consent of marriage in certain cases necessary
18. Consent to marriage of minors
If either party to an intended marriage, not being a widower or widow, is under twenty‐one years of age, the written consent of the father, or if he be dead or of unsound mind or absent from Nigeria, of the mother, or if both be dead or of unsound mind or absent from Nigeria, of the guardian of such party, must be produced annexed to such affidavit as aforesaid before a license can be granted or a certificate issued.
19. Signature of consent by person unable to write or to understand English language
(1) If the person required to sign such consent is unable to write, or is insufticiently acquainted with the English language, or both, then he shall sign such consent by placing his mark or cross thereto in the presence of one of the following persons‐
(a) any judge of the High Court of the State;
(b) administrative officer;
(c) justice of the peace;
(d) magistrate;
(e) registrar of marriages;
(f) medical officer in the service of the Government; or
(g) minister of religion.
(2) Such signature shall be attested by such person as in the Form B in the First Schedule.
[First Schedule. Form B.]
20. Consent where no parent or guardian capable of consenting
If there be no parent or guardian of such party residing in Nigeria and capable of con‐ senting to the marriage, then any of the following persons may consent to such marriage, in writing, upon being satisfied after due inquiry that the marriage is a proper one‐
[14 of 1932. L.N. 47 ofl955. L.N. 112 of 1964.]
(a) a Governor;
(b) a judge of the High Court of the State or of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja;
(c) any officer of or above the grade of assistant secretary.
Celebration of marriage
21. Marriage in licensed place of worship
Marriage may be celebrated in any licensed place of worship by any recognised min‐ ister of the church, denomination or body to which such place of worship belongs, and according to the rites or usages of marriage observed in such church, denomination or body:
Proviso as to times and witnesses
Provided that the marriage be celebrated with open doors between the hours of eight o’clock in the forenoon and six o’clock in the afternoon, and in the presence of two or more witnesses besides the officiating minister.
22. Minister not to celebrate marriage if impediment, nor without license, etc.
A minister shall not celebrate any marriage if he knows of any just impediment to such marriage, nor until the parties deliver to him the registrar’s certificate or the license issued under section 13 of this Act.
[L.N. 1 of 1955.]
23. Where minister may celebrate marriage
A minister shall not celebrate any marriage except in a building which has been duly licensed by the Minister, or in such place as the license issued under section 13 of this Act, may direct.
[L.N. of 1955.]
24. Registrars to be provided with books of certificates
The Principal Registrar shall cause to be printed and delivered to the several registrars, and to the recognised minister’s of licensed places of worship, books of marriage certificates in duplicate and with counterfoils as in the Form E in the First Schedule. Such books shall be kept by the several registrars and the recognised ministers for the time
of such places of worship, under lock and key, and be in custody of such registrars and ministers respectively, who shall, so soon as all the certificates in any such books shall have been used, send the said book with the counterfoils duly filled in to the Principal Registrar.
[First Schedule. Form E.]
25. Entries to be made in marriage certificate
Immediately after the celebration of any marriage by a minister, the officiating minister shall fill up in duplicate a marriage certificate with the particulars required by the said Form E, and state also and enter in the counterfoil the number of the certificate, the date of the marriage, names of the parties, and the names of the witnesses.
[Form E.]
26. Signature of certificate; duplicate certificate to be sent to registrar
The certificate shall then be signed in duplicate by the officiating minister, by the parties, and by two or more witnesses to the marriage. The minister having also signed his name to the counterfoil, he shall sever the duplicate certificate therefrom, and he shall deliver one certificate to the parties, and shall within seven days thereafter transmit the other to the registrar of marriages for the district in which the marriage takes place, who shall file the same in his office.
27. Marriage in a registrar’s office
After the issue of a certificate under section 11, or of a license under section 13 of this Act, the parties may, if they think fit, contract a marriage before a registrar, in the presence of two witnesses in his office, with open doors, between the hours of ten o’clock in the forenoon and four o’clock in the afternoon, and in the following manner‐
Form to be observed
The registrar, after production to him of the certificate or license, shall, either directly or through an interpreter, address the parties thus‐
“Do I understand that you, A.B., and you, C.D., come here for the purpose of becoming man and wife?
If the parties answer in the affirmative, he shall proceed thus‐ ‘‐../
“Know ye that, by the public taking of each other as man and wife in my pres‐ence and in the presence of the persons now here, and by the subsequent attestation thereof by signing your names to that effect, you become legally married to each other, although no other rite of a civil or religious nature shall take
place, and that this marriage cannot be dissolved during your lifetime,
except by a valid judgment of divorce; and if either of you before the death of the other shall contract another marriage while this remain
undissolved you will be thereby guilty of bigamy, and liable to punishment for that offence.”
Each of the parties shall then say to the other “I call upon all persons here present to witness that I, A.B. do take thee, C.D. to be my lawful wife (or husband)”.
28. Marriage certificate to be signed
The registrar shall then fill up, and he and the parties and witnesses shall sign, the certificate of the marriage in duplicate, and the registrar shall then fill up and sign the counterfoil as hereinbefore prescribed in the case of a marriage by a minister, and shall deliver one certificate to the parties and shall file the other in his office.
29. Marriage under license
Whenever the license issued under section 13 of this Act authorises the celebration of marriage at a place other than a licensed place of worship, or the office of the registrar of marriages, the registrar of the district in which marriage is intended to take place, upon the production of such license, shall deliver to the person producing the same a blank certificate of marriage in duplicate and shall till up such certificate, and observe strictly all the formalities hereinbefore prescribed as to marriages in a licensed place of worship or registrar’s office, as the case may be.
Registry and evidence of marriages
30. Marriage certificates to be registered
(1) Every registrar shall forthwith register in a book to be kept in his office for such purpose, and to be called the marriage register book, every certificate of marriage which shall be filed in his office according to the Form F in the First Schedule; and every such entry shall be made in the order of date from the beginning to the end of the book, and every entry so made shall be dated on the day on which it is so entered, and shall be signed by the registrar, and such book shall be indexed in such manner as is best suited for easy reference thereto.
[First Schedule. Form E]
(2) The registrar shall at all reasonable times allow searches to be made in the mar‐ riage register book, and shall give certified copies therefrom upon payment of the pre‐ scribed fee.
(3) Within ten days after the last day of each month, every registrar shall send to the Principal Registrar a certified copy of all entries made by him during the proceeding month in the marriage register book of his district, and the Principal Registrar shall file the same in his office.
31. Correction of clerical errors in marriage certificates
Any registrar, when authorised by the Principal Registrar, may correct any clerical er‐ ror in any certificate of marriage filed in his office, upon production to him of the certifi‐ cate delivered to the parties, and shall authenticate every such correction by his signature and the date of such correction.
32. Evidence of marriage
Every certificate of marriage which shall have been filed in the office of the registrar
of any district, or a copy thereof, purporting to be signed and certified as a true copy by the registrar of such district for the time being, and every entry in a marriage register
book, or copy thereof certified as aforesaid, shall be admissible as evidence of the mar‐ riage to which it relates, in any court of justice or before any person having by law or consent of parties authority to hear, receive, and examine evidence.
Invalid marriages
33. Invalid marriages
(1) No marriage in Nigeria shall be valid where either of the parties thereto at the time of the celebration of such marriage is married under customary law to any person
other than the person with whom such marriage is had.
[L.N. 1 of 1955. 1970 No. 18.]
(2) A marriage shall be null and void if both parties knowingly and wilfully acquiesce in its celebration‐
(a) in any place other than the office of a registrar of marriages or a licensed place of worship (except where authorised by the license issued under section 13 of this Act); or
(b) under a false name or names; or
(c) without a registrar’s certificate of notice or license issued under section 13 of this Act duly issued; or
(d) by a person not being a recognised minister of some religious denomination or
body or a registrar of marriages.
(3) But no marriage shall, after celebration, be deemed invalid by reason that any provision of this Act other than the foregoing has not been complied with.
34. Marriages under this Act valid
All marriages celebrated under this Act shall be good and valid in law to all intents and purposes.
35. Customary marriages
Any person who is married under this Act, or whose marriage is declared by this Act
to be valid, shall be incapable, during the continuance of such marriage, of contracting a valid marriage under customary law; but, save as aforesaid, nothing in this Act contained shall affect the validity of any marriage contracted under or in accordance with any customary law, or in any manner apply to marriages so contracted.
Fees
36. Fees
The fees specified in the Second Schedule shall be paid for the several matters to which they are applicable.
[Second Schedule.)
37. Fees may be remitted on ground of poverty
The Minister may, when he is satisfied of the poverty of the parties, reduce the amount of the said fees, or remit them altogether, and, if they have been paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund or other appropriate Fund as the case may be, order their refund.
[1971 No. 14.]
38. Minister may receive customary fees
This Act shall not preclude a minister from receiving the fees ordinarily paid to a minister of his denomination for the celebration of marriage.
Offences and penalties
39. Marriage with a person previously married
Whoever, being unmarried, goes through the ceremony of marriage under this Act with a person whom he or she knows to be married to another person, shall be liable to imprisonment for five years.
40. Making false declarations, etc., for marriage
Whoever in any affidavit, declaration, certificate, license, document, or statement by law to be made or issued for the purposes of a marriage, declares, enters, certifies or states any material matter which is false, shall, if he does so without having taken reason‐ able means to ascertain the truth or falsity of such matter, be liable to imprisonment for one year, or shall, if he does so knowing that such matter is false, be liable to imprison‐ ment for five years.
41. False pretence of impediment to marriage
Whoever endeavours to prevent a marriage by pretence that his consent thereto is re‐ quired by law, or that any person whose consent is so required does not consent, or that
there is any legal impediment to the performing of such marriage, shall, if he does so knowing that such pretence is false or without having reason to believe that it is true, be liable to imprisonment for two years.
42. Unlawfully performing marriage ceremony
Whoever performs or witnesses as a marriage officer the ceremony of marriage, knowing that he is not duly qualified so to do, or that any of the matters required by law for the validity of such marriage has not happened or been performed, so that the mar‐ riage is void or unlawful on any ground, shall be liable to imprisonment for five years.
43. Wilful neglect of duty to fill up or transmit certificate of marriage
Whoever, being under a duty to fill up the certificate of a marriage celebrated by him, or the counterfoil thereof, or to transmit the same to the registrar of marriages, wilfully fails to perform such duty, shall be liable to imprisonment for two years.
44. Personation in marriage
Whoever personates any other person in marriage, or marries under a false name or description, with intent to deceive the other party to the marriage, shall be liable to imprisonment for five years.
45. Fictitious marriage
Whoever goes through the ceremony of marriage, or any ceremony which he or she
represents to be a ceremony of marriage, knowing that the marriage is void on any ground, and that the other person believes it to be valid, shall be liable to imprisonment for five years.
46. Contracting marriage under this Act when already married by native law
Whoever contracts a marriage under the provisions of this Act, or any modification or re‐enactment thereof, being at the time married in accordance with customary law to any person other than the person with whom such marriage is contracted, shall be liable to imprisonment for five years.
47. Contracting marriage by customary law when already married by this Act
Whoever, having contracted marriage under this Act, or any modification or re‐ enactment thereof, or under any enactment repealed by this Act, during the continuance of such marriage contracts a marriage in accordance with customary law, shall be liable to imprisonment for five years.
48. Marrying minor without prescribed consent
Whoever, knowing that the written consent required by this Act has not been ob‐ tained, shall marry or assist or procure any other person to marry a minor under the age of twenty‐one years, not being a widow or widower, shall be liable to imprisonment for two years.
Foreign marriages
49. Validity of foreign marriages
Subject to sections 50 to 53 of this Act, a marriage between parties one of whom is a citizen of Nigeria, if it is contracted in a country outside Nigeria before a marriage officer in his office, shall be valid in law as if it had been contracted in Nigeria before a registrar in the registrar’s office.
50. Marriage officers
For the purposes of this Act, every Nigerian diplomatic or consular officer of the rank of Secretary or above shall be regarded as a marriage officer in the country to which he is accredited.
51. Marriage officer’s office
The office used by a marriage officer for the performance of his diplomatic or consu‐lar duties shall be regarded as the marriage officer’s office for the purposes of this Act.
52. Act to apply subject to modifications
Subject to the modifications specified in section 53 this Act shall apply in relation to a marriage contracted before a marriage officer as nearly as may be as it applies in relation to a marriage contracted before a registrar.
53. Modifications referred to in section 52
The modifications referred to in section 52 of this Act are as follows‐
(a) references to the registrar’s district shall be construed as references to the country to which the marriage officer is accredited;
(b) the affidavit mentioned in section 11 (2) of this Act shall be sworn before the marriage officer;
(c) section 13 of this Act shall not apply;
(d) sections 15 to 17 of this Act shall not apply and, if a caveat is entered under section 14 of this Act in respect of an intended marriage of which notice has been given, the notice and all proceedings consequent thereon shall be void and any fee paid shall be refunded to the payer (without prejudice to the right to give a fresh notice or enter a fresh caveat);
(e) the marriage officer, if he is satisfied that the consent of any person required by section 18 of this Act cannot be obtained because of that person’s absence, inaccessibility or disability, may (without prejudice to that person’s right to enter a caveat under section 14 of this Act) dispense with the necessity of ob‐ taining the consent of that person or a consent under section 20 of this Act so however that the marriage officer shall not have power to dispense with the consent required by section 18 of this Act if he is satisfied that the marriage is being sought to be celebrated outside Nigeria solely because that consent could not be obtained in Nigeria;
(f) in section 30 (3) of this Act the words “three months” and “each calendar year” shall be substituted for the words “ten days” and “each month” respectively;
(g) in section 33 (1) of this Act the words “in Nigeria” shall be disregarded;
(h) any fee chargeable shall be converted to the local currency at the official rate of exchange;
(i) power to reduce, remit or refund fees under section 38 of this Act shall be vested in the marriage officer.
Forms
54. Forms
The forms contained in the First Schedule may be used in the cases to which they are applicable, with such alterations as may be necessary.
[First Schedule.]
Repeals
55. Repeals
The Marriage Ordinance.’, the Marriage Proclamation”, and the Foreign Marriage Or‐ dinance, 19133, are hereby repealed:
Provided, however, that the said enactments shall continue to apply to every marriage contracted thereunder or validated thereby as if this Act had not been made.
FIRST SCHEDULE FORMA
[Section 7.]
Notice of marriage
To the registrar of marriages for the ……………………………………. district of Nigeria.
I hereby give you notice that a marriage is intended to be had within three months from the date
hereof between me, the undersigned, and the other party herein named.
| Name | Condition | Occupation, | Age | Dwelling | Consent, if |
| rank or | place of | any and | |||
| profession | abode | whom | |||
| Bridegroom | Bachelor | Farmer, etc. (as case may | 23 | ||
| widower | |||||
| Bride | Spinster or | Laundress (as case may | 18 | Father | |
| widow |
Witness my hand this …………………….. day of………………….. 20
.
Signature
FORM B
[Sections 8 and 19.]
Form of attestation
Signed by the said : …………………….. ……………………………..of ……………………..on the ……………….. day
of …………………. 20 …………. this notice having been first read over to him (her) (or read over
and truly interpreted to him (her) in the language) by ……………………………………..
1. Chapter 95 of the 1908 edition of the Laws of Southern Nigeria.
2. Chapter 47 of the 1910 edition of the Laws of Northern Nigeria.
3. No. 6 of 1913 of Southern Nigeria.
FORM B‐‐‐continued
He (she) seemed to understand the same and made his (her) mark thereto in my presence.
Signed
FORM C
[Section 11.]
Registrar’s certificate
I, …………………………………. , registrar of marriages in the ……………….. district of
Nigeria, do hereby certify that on the …………………. day of …………………………… . notice was duly entered in the marriage notice book of this district, of the marriage intended be‐
tween the parties herein named and described, such notice being delivered under the hand of one of
the parties, that is to say:
| Name | Condition | Occupation,rank | Age | Consent | Dwelling | Lengthof |
| or profession | residence | |||||
| A. B. | Bachelor | Boatman (as | 19 (as case | E. F the | ||
| case may be) | may be) | (as the case | ||||
| may be) | ||||||
| C.D. | Spinster | (as case may | 16 (as case | G. H .. the | ||
| be) | may be) | mother (as | ||||
| case may be) |
Date of notice entered…………………………………………. 20 …….. .
Date of certificate given……………………………………….. 20 …….. .
No caveat has been entered against the issue of this certificate; or
A caveat was entered against the issue of this certificate on the ……………………. . day of …………………………………………………………. 20 … , but it has been cancelled
Witness my hand this ……………. day of……………………… 20
.
A.B., Registrar of Marriages, District
NOTE.‐This certificate will be void unless the marriage is solemnised on or before the ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. .
day of …………………………………………………………………………………….. 20 …………. . (A.B.)
FORM D
[Section 13.]
Special license
Whereas A. B. and C. D. desire to intermarry, and sufficient cause has been shown to me why the
preliminaries required by the Marriage Act should be dispensed with:
Now, therefore, in pursuance of the said Act, I do dispense with the giving of notice and the is‐
sue of the certificate thereby prescribed, and do hereby authorise any registrar of marriages, or
recognised minister of some religious denomination or body, to celebrate marriage between the
said A. B. and C. D., at (place of celebration), between the hours of 8 o’clock in the forenoon and
6 o’clock in the afternoon, and within ………days from the date hereof.
Given under my hand, this ……………..day of …………………………………. .. 20 ……. .
(Signed) ………………. …………. .
Minister
FORM E
[Sections 24 and 25.]
Marriages celebrated in the ………………….. at ……………………………………. in
Nigeria
Certificate of marriage
| No | No. | When | Condition | Occupa‐ | |||||
| Names | Rank or | Residence | Father’s | tion, | |||||
| and sur‐ | Full age | profes‐ | at time of | name | rank or | ||||
| names | of minor | sion | marriage | profes‐ | |||||
| name | sion of | ||||||||
| father | |||||||||
| Name | |||||||||
| husban | |||||||||
| Name | |||||||||
| wife | |||||||||
| Witness |
Married at ……………………. by (or before) me, A. B., minister (or registrar as the case may be).
This marriage was celebrated between us A.B., C.D. In the presence of us E.F., G.H.
Witnesses
FORM F
| When | Names | Whether | Condition | Occupatio | Residence | Father’s |
| married | age or minor | name and | ||||
| surnames | occupation |
Entered this ………………………………… day of ……… ……………………………20 ,
at the district registry of marriages at ……… ………. ………………………………. …….. .
(Signed) A.B ……………. ……… .
Registrar
SECOND SCHEDULE
[section 41.]
N k
Filing every notice and entering same……………………….. 0.50
On issue of each certificate, or certified copy thereof…………. 0.20
Certifying any extract……………………………………….. 0.20
On every marriage in registrar’s office……………………….. 0.50
Special license……………………………………………… 10.50
MARRIAGE ACT
SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION
List of Subsidiary Legislation
1. Places for Celebration of Marriages (Delegation of Licensing Powers) Order.
2. Marriage (Appointment of Principal Registrar, Registrars, etc.) Notice.
3. Marriage (Designation of Districts) Order.
4. Marriage (Location of Marriage Offices) Directions.
5. Marriage Act (Delegation of Powers) Notice.
PLACES FOR CELEBRATION OF MARRIAGES (DELEGATION OF
LICENSING POWERS) ORDER
[L.N. 105 of 1967.]
under section 6
[Commencement.]
[7th March, 1967]
1. Delegation of function as licensing authority in respect of places for the celebrtion of marriages
The function heretofore vested in the National Council of Ministers and now devolving on the Minister by operation of law in respect, inter alia, of the licensing of places of public worship for the celebration of marriages under section 6 of the Marriage Act shall be and is hereby delegated to the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs with effect as hereinafter appears, so however that the Permanent Secretary afore‐ said shall have regard and give effect to any directions, given generally or specially by the Minister; and notwithstanding the delegation aforesaid the Minister may, if he thinks fit, himself exercise the function.
[Cap. M6.]
2. Short title
This order may be cited as the Places for Celebration of Marriages (Delegation of Licensing Powers) Order.
MARRIAGE (APPOINTMENT OF PRINCIPAL REGISTRAR,
REGISTRARS, ETC.) NOTICE
[L.N. 72 of 1971.]
under section 4
[Commencement.]
1. Appointment of Principal Registrar of Marriages, etc.
[Cap. M6.]
For the purpose of the Marriage Act‐
[Cap. M6.]
[11th August, 1971]
(a) the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs, is hereby appointed the Principal Registrar of Marriages;
(b) the Senior Assistant Secretary on the staff of the Permanent Secretary, Federal
Ministry of Internal Affairs, is hereby appointed the Registrar of Marriages for the marriage district of Lagos; and
(c) the executive officer in charge of the marriage registry, on the staff of the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry ofInternal Affairs, is hereby appointed the Deputy Registrar of Marriages for the marriage district of Lagos.
2. Appointment of registrars of marriages and their deputies
For the purposes of the Marriage Act‐
(a) the officers mentioned in the second column of the First Schedule hereto are hereby severally appointed registrars of marriages for the marriage districts men‐ tioned in the first column; and
[First Schedule.]
(b) the officers mentioned in the third column of the said First Schedule (or, where no officers are specified, the officers next in rank to the officer mentioned in the second column) are hereby severally appointed Deputy Registrars of Mar‐ riages for the marriage district mentioned in the first column to act in the ab‐ sence or during the illness or incapacity of the registrar of marriages.
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