Disadvantages of Court Marriage in Nigeria
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In Nigeria, the major document according to the law that regulates
social relations as regards the family is the ‘Marriage Act’. The
Marriage Act spells out the rights and responsibilities of the spouses
as regards to children and other obligations and the legal
consequences of divorce. A court marriage means getting married in
court which thus makes the marriage legal.
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Disadvantages of Court Marriage in Nigeria
Requirements for Court Marriage in Nigeria
There are requirements for the betrothed couple if they want to have a
court marriage, these are:
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At least one of the engaged couples must reside in the region where
the marriage will be registered
Each of the applicants must be at least 21 years of age. However, if
one of the applicants is under 21, the court will demand a written
consent from his or her parents.
With a court marriage, there are no religious obstructions or rules to
getting married except that both applicants must not be married to
anyone else at the time.
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The applicant can then swear at the office of the registrar. The
ceremony of marriage registration may take place at the Registry
Office. After the ceremony is over, the cleric must immediately fill
the marriage certificate in two separate copies. The cleric would also
write down the number of the marriage certificate, date of the
marriage registration, names of couple and witnesses of the joining.
Both copies have to be signed by the cleric, spouses, and witnesses.
After that, the spouses will take one of the copies of the marriage
certificate while the second copy is sent to the local Registry
Office.
Disadvantages of Court Marriage in Nigeria
There are many reasons why people opt for the option of having a court
marriage in Nigeria. Such reasons could include not wanting to save up
the money that would otherwise be used entertaining a large crowd.
However, there are some disadvantages that come with a court marriage
in Nigeria. Read on below:
Definition of roles according to tradition
Nigerian law does not define the specific rights and responsibilities
of spouses in a registered marriage. However, the Nigerian law defines
roles and responsibilities in marriage in Northern states of Nigeria
where Islam is the predominant religion. Here, a woman’s role is
limited to household chores. A man is given the right to restrict his
wife’s movement within the country, according to the law, and to
also restrict her communication with the outer world.
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Time
A major con when discussing court marriages is its time-consuming
process. There are so many nuances to be bothered about when
considering a court marriage in Nigeria. The process goes thus:
You visit the local Registry Office and then write a declaration of
marriage. A registrar in the local Registry office provides you with a
special form to fill. This form requires that you jot down all of your
personal data such as your name, age, address, occupation, marital
status, parents written consent (that is if you are under 21), and
signature with two passport photographs.
After this, your notice will be properly scrutinized and posted on the
door of the Registry Office. This will take 21 days. You will have to
be patient and wait for about three months for all the paperwork to be
sorted out. This wait can be really hard.
When the 21 days has expired the couple may come to the Registry
Office to continue the procedure. Here, the couples must fill in three
forms:
The first is an affidavit where the marriage applicants will write
down their age and marital status (single, divorced or widowed). Here,
one must specify if he or she is widowed or divorced. He or she would
also have to produce the certificates as proof of the status
specified, that is the divorce settlement or death certificate of the
late spouse.
If a person is under 21, he or she must include written consent from
his/her parents.
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The second form is the ‘Prohibited Degree Form’ which is to tell
the couples, the categories of people they are allowed or prohibited
from being legally married to.
The third document requires that the couple jot down the names and
surnames of parents, relatives and other witnesses.
After this, the couple will have to swear on the Bible or Quran that
the personal information they had provided is correct and right. The
tiresome part of the processes is now over. Both couples can then pick
a suitable date which must be a Thursday, or Saturday if they have
earlier applied for the special license.
Thoroughness
Another disadvantage of court marriage is the thoroughness it demands
from an applicant in filing all the documents. When filling the
documents, one must provide personal information in all of the
different forms.
Another is with the affidavit, which is a written notarized testimony.
With the affidavit, if one makes a mistake, whether voluntarily or
unintentionally, he or she would get into serious trouble with the
law. The applicants must be completely honest and spot-on when filling
all the forms in the local Registry Office. If a person does not
provide accurate information, one can be jailed for up to five years.
Expenses
Do not forget that court marriages are not free of charge. The couple
has+ to pay a fee to the registry offices in order to get married
according to the law. The prescribed fee differs according to regions
but the cost is usually not more than N25,000. Also, every couple is
required to wait for 21 days. However, if there is an urgent need to
get married earlier, one will have to purchase a special license which
increases the amount of the prescribed fee. Otherwise, when the 21
days has expired the couple can come to the Registry Office in order
to continue the procedure.
Cases of Divorce
In cases where the couple wants their marriages annulled, it can pose
a problem to either of the spouses. In the case of marriage
dissolution, there are many instances when a spouse has lost a major
bulk of their assets to the other.
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In Nigeria, the major document according to the law that regulates
social relations as regards the family is the ‘Marriage Act’. The
Marriage Act spells out the rights and responsibilities of the spouses
as regards to children and other obligations and the legal
consequences of divorce. A court marriage means getting married in
court which thus makes the marriage legal.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
Disadvantages of Court Marriage in Nigeria
Requirements for Court Marriage in Nigeria
There are requirements for the betrothed couple if they want to have a
court marriage, these are:
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
At least one of the engaged couples must reside in the region where
the marriage will be registered
Each of the applicants must be at least 21 years of age. However, if
one of the applicants is under 21, the court will demand a written
consent from his or her parents.
With a court marriage, there are no religious obstructions or rules to
getting married except that both applicants must not be married to
anyone else at the time.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
The applicant can then swear at the office of the registrar. The
ceremony of marriage registration may take place at the Registry
Office. After the ceremony is over, the cleric must immediately fill
the marriage certificate in two separate copies. The cleric would also
write down the number of the marriage certificate, date of the
marriage registration, names of couple and witnesses of the joining.
Both copies have to be signed by the cleric, spouses, and witnesses.
After that, the spouses will take one of the copies of the marriage
certificate while the second copy is sent to the local Registry
Office.
Disadvantages of Court Marriage in Nigeria
There are many reasons why people opt for the option of having a court
marriage in Nigeria. Such reasons could include not wanting to save up
the money that would otherwise be used entertaining a large crowd.
However, there are some disadvantages that come with a court marriage
in Nigeria. Read on below:
Definition of roles according to tradition
Nigerian law does not define the specific rights and responsibilities
of spouses in a registered marriage. However, the Nigerian law defines
roles and responsibilities in marriage in Northern states of Nigeria
where Islam is the predominant religion. Here, a woman’s role is
limited to household chores. A man is given the right to restrict his
wife’s movement within the country, according to the law, and to
also restrict her communication with the outer world.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
Time
A major con when discussing court marriages is its time-consuming
process. There are so many nuances to be bothered about when
considering a court marriage in Nigeria. The process goes thus:
You visit the local Registry Office and then write a declaration of
marriage. A registrar in the local Registry office provides you with a
special form to fill. This form requires that you jot down all of your
personal data such as your name, age, address, occupation, marital
status, parents written consent (that is if you are under 21), and
signature with two passport photographs.
After this, your notice will be properly scrutinized and posted on the
door of the Registry Office. This will take 21 days. You will have to
be patient and wait for about three months for all the paperwork to be
sorted out. This wait can be really hard.
When the 21 days has expired the couple may come to the Registry
Office to continue the procedure. Here, the couples must fill in three
forms:
The first is an affidavit where the marriage applicants will write
down their age and marital status (single, divorced or widowed). Here,
one must specify if he or she is widowed or divorced. He or she would
also have to produce the certificates as proof of the status
specified, that is the divorce settlement or death certificate of the
late spouse.
If a person is under 21, he or she must include written consent from
his/her parents.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
The second form is the ‘Prohibited Degree Form’ which is to tell
the couples, the categories of people they are allowed or prohibited
from being legally married to.
The third document requires that the couple jot down the names and
surnames of parents, relatives and other witnesses.
After this, the couple will have to swear on the Bible or Quran that
the personal information they had provided is correct and right. The
tiresome part of the processes is now over. Both couples can then pick
a suitable date which must be a Thursday, or Saturday if they have
earlier applied for the special license.
Thoroughness
Another disadvantage of court marriage is the thoroughness it demands
from an applicant in filing all the documents. When filling the
documents, one must provide personal information in all of the
different forms.
Another is with the affidavit, which is a written notarized testimony.
With the affidavit, if one makes a mistake, whether voluntarily or
unintentionally, he or she would get into serious trouble with the
law. The applicants must be completely honest and spot-on when filling
all the forms in the local Registry Office. If a person does not
provide accurate information, one can be jailed for up to five years.
Expenses
Do not forget that court marriages are not free of charge. The couple
has+ to pay a fee to the registry offices in order to get married
according to the law. The prescribed fee differs according to regions
but the cost is usually not more than N25,000. Also, every couple is
required to wait for 21 days. However, if there is an urgent need to
get married earlier, one will have to purchase a special license which
increases the amount of the prescribed fee. Otherwise, when the 21
days has expired the couple can come to the Registry Office in order
to continue the procedure.
Cases of Divorce
In cases where the couple wants their marriages annulled, it can pose
a problem to either of the spouses. In the case of marriage
dissolution, there are many instances when a spouse has lost a major
bulk of their assets to the other.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
jQuery(document).ready(function( $) { $.post(
'https://nigerianfinder.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php', {action:
'mts_view_count', id: '290808'}); });
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