- Introduction
The recent directives from the Federal Min-
istry of Internal Affairs under Mr. Rauf Areg-
besola as the Honourable Minister is discrim-
inatory, and a bare-faced attack on the right to
freedom of thought, conscience and religion
of Christians enshrined in the extant Consti-
tution of Nigeria, the 1999 Constitution. The
Order provides a fee of N30,000.00 for a place
of public worship to be licensed for statutory
marriage. It provides also a fee of N21,000.00
for every certificate of marriage to be issued
to a married couple. This fee regime is worri-
somely discriminatory as it is directed to ma-
jorly Christian marriage whereas Islamic law
marriage and marriage under customary law
are clearly excluded. In short, these two forms
of marriage are completely not regulated by
the government. Muslims and traditional
religionists marry when they want, how they
want and without making any form of pay-
ment to the government. Rather the govern-
ment financially supports them, and it can be
said that the government supports them with
revenue generated from Christian marriages.
Payment of fees is not the only burden placed
by government on the marriage of Christians
in Nigeria. This paper traced the legal roots
of these discriminations of Christian mar-
riage proximately to the marriage statutes and
ultimately to the Constitution. It exposed the
erroneous jurisprudence on which the perse-
cution often Christian marriage is anchored
in Nigeria. It calls for a review of the marriage
statutes and the amendment of the Constitu-
tion with a view of putting in place a marriage
regime that treats all forms of marriage, reli-
gious and otherwise equally as is the case in
Ethiopia. For the mean time the paper recom-
mends that Christians should reject the fee
regime imposed by the Ministry of Internal
Affairs as it is discriminatory, oppressive and
unconstitutional.
- Christian Marriage and the Nigerian
Marriage Statutes: Unconstitutional Discrim-
ination and Persecution
Marriage is a natural institution through
which family is formed and the indispen-
sability of family as the smallest unit of the
society redounds to marriage being an indis-
pensable social institution. It is at the same
time a religious institution given that many
religious have their doctrinal regulations of
it. It is unarguable that religion is a phenome-
non that is inherently connected to the nature
of a human being as a rational being, homo
sapiens, who reaches out beyond himself
in auto-transcendence to connect with the
divine, the ultimate reality. It is for this fact
that right to freedom of religion is universal-
ly recognised as a human right. It is on the
basis of this that there are religious forms of
celebrating marriage. For examples, there are
Christian, Jewish, Hindu and Muslim forms
of marriage. In Nigeria, there are also forms
of marriage according to traditional religion.
Besides religious forms of marriage, there is
what is referred to as Statutory form of mar-
riage, that is, that form of marriage created by
the State through legislation. The status of re-
ligious forms of marriage within a State vary
from country to country. Whichever status
model adopted by a State, what is important
is that the State recognises religious forms of
marriage and treats all religious forms of mar-
riage equally based on the equality of citizens.
In a country like the United States of Amer-
ica, where however marriage is regulated by
individual States unlike Nigeria where it is
regulated by the Federation, all the different
legitimate forms of marriage, religious or oth-
erwise, enjoy civil effect subject to compliance
with conditions imposed by the State. One
such condition is the requirement of State
licence to marry. One thing about this struc-
ture of things is that the condition applies to
all legitimate forms of marriage, religious or
otherwise. A marriage conducted accord-
ing to Christian or Islamic form of marriage
will produce civil effect only if conducted
in accordance with the conditions imposed
by the marriage statute. In effect the condi-
tions specified by the marriage statute are
common to all legitimate forms of marriage.
Similarly, religious forms of dissolution of
marriage follow this subordinated structure.
But the situation is different in a country like
Ethiopia. In Ethiopia the different legitimate
forms of marriage, religious or otherwise,
have independent and equivalent status. All
have legal effects. Article 40 of the Ethiopian
Revised Family Code, titled, “Various Forms
of Marriage Equivalent” states in subarticle
1: “Marriage produces the same legal effects
whatever the form according to which it has
been celebrated.” Subarticle 2 goes further
to say: “No distinction shall be made as to
whether the marriage has been concluded
before an officer of civil status or according to
the forms prescribed by religion or custom.”
By that token, a marriage celebrated solely
according to a religious form of marriage has
legal effects in the State without the religious
body having first to satisfy some laid down
statutory preconditionslike registration of
place of worship, notifying the registrar of
marriage and getting the licence to marry,
et cetera. Under this structure, every reli-
gious form of marriage is in effect a statutory
marriage sui generis. Similarly both religious
forms of marriage dissolution and marriage
dissolution before the officer of the State op-
erate collaterally as equivalents (See Article
74, Ethiopian Revised Family Code)
Different as the America and Ethiopian
models of marriage legislation are, they are
one in treating, at least, all religious forms of
marriage equally. No religious form of mar-
riage is singled out for special favour or priv-
ilege. In so doing the legislation respects and
promotes the right to freedom of thought,
conscience and religion as well as the right to
freedom from discrimination.
Unfortunately, Nigerian Marriage
Statutes, namely the Marriage Act and the
Matrimonial Causes Act, the statutesregu-
lating respectively the formation of marriage
and matrimonial causes in Nigeria, fail to
meet this basic principle of fairness and jus-
tice. They are designed to regulate only mo-
nogamous marriage which Christians favour
whilepolygamous (polygyny) which Muslims
and Traditional religionists favour are not so
regulated. The result is that their marriages
enjoy automatic legal civil effects. Numeri-
cally, Christianity and Islam run neck to neck
in Nigeria as the religions of the majority of
the people. The population of the adherents
of traditional religion is more or less insignif-
icant when compared with the population of
these other two put together. The effect is that
marriage legislation that excludes Muslims
and traditionalists is practically a legislation
tailored for Christians. The ultimate root of
this discrimination and injustice is the 1999
Constitution which in giving the National
Assembly the exclusive competence of mar-
riage excludes competence over Islamic and
customary law marriages. This competence
is listed as item 61 of the Exclusive Legisla-
tive List and it reads: “The formation, annul-
ment and dissolution of marriages other than
marriages under Islamic law and Customary
law including matrimonial causes relating
thereto.” On the basis of this discriminatory
mandate the Marriage Act does not regulate
the formation of Islamic and customary law
marriages. It does not demand that Muslims
or traditional religionist register their places
of worship, or notify the marriage registry
prior to their marriage or secure the licence
of the marriage registrar before they marry
in their places of worship. Neither does the
Marriage Act require them to pay any form of
fees for their marriagr or require them to cel-
ebrate their marriages at a particular period
of the day as is the case with the marriage of
Christians. In the same vein, the Matrimoni-
al Causes Act does not regulate matrimonial
causes arising from polygamous marriages,
nay, Islamic and customary law marriages.
A marriage dissolved in accordance with Is-
lamic law or customary law is recognised by
the State as duly dissolved whereas a decree
of matrimonial annulment decreed by, for
instance, by an ecclesiastical tribunal of the
Catholic Church does not enjoy such recog-
nition.
One may argue that Christian marriage can
readily be considered as customary law mar-
riage judging from the nature of customary
law. Customary law generally is a mirror of
accepted practice. It is a practice accepted by
a community as having the binding force of
law. Christian form of marriage isaccepted
within the Christian community as having
the binding force of law. Be this as it may,
the dominant jurisprudence currently in
Nigerian legal systems favours the thinking
that customary law marriage is essentially
polygamous and refers only to the marriage
of traditional religionists Muslims whereas
statutory marriage is essentially heteroge-
neously monogamous and so refers to the
marriage of Christians. This, though, is erro-
neous. The explicit references to churches in
the Marriage Act go to support the erroneous
jurisprudence that statutory marriage is es-
sentially for Christians as it is a monogamous
form of marriage. For instance, section 21 of
the Marriage Act provides:
Marriage may be celebrated in any licensed
place of worship by any recognised minis-
ter 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.
Judicial pronouncements also support this
erroneous perception. For instance, Palmer,
J., in Obiekwe v. Obiekwe stated: “So far as
the law of Nigeria is concerned, there is only
one form of monogamous marriage, and that
is marriage under the Ordinance. Legally a
marriage in a Church (or any denomination)
is either a marriage under the Ordinance or it
is nothing.” This means that in so far as Chris-
tian marriage is monogamous, it can have le-
gal effect in Nigeria if it is celebrated subject
to the Marriage Ordinance. In other words, as
things stand under the current Nigerian legal
system there is no safe haven for Christian
marriage and Christians from the discrimi-
nation and persecution hatched by item 61
of the 1999 Constitution. This underscores
the weaknesses of the 1999 Constitution as
a product of the military rather than a dem-
ocratic charter produced by 3. Effect of the
Discriminatory Statutory Marriage Regime:
Persecution
The effects of the discriminatory statutory
marriage regime in Nigeria are multifarious.
A Muslim or a traditional religionist can
marriage according to the form prescribed
by his faith and the marriage enjoys auto-
matic legal effect in Nigeria and by extension
internationally whereas a Christian does not
enjoy such a liberty. No statement brings out
more lucidly the underdog status forced on
Christians under the Marriage Actthan the
statement of Palmer, J. Obiekwe v Obiekwe
[(1963) 7 ENLR 196]. In this case, the de-
fendant married solely according to the Ro-
man Catholic Law, without complying with
the requirements of the Marriage Ordinance.
Palmer, J., held:
A good deal has been said about ‘church
marriage’ or “Marriage under Roman
Catholic Law.” So far as the law of Nigeria
is concerned, there is only one form of mo-
nogamous marriage, and that is marriage
under the Ordinance. Legally a marriage in
a Church (or any denomination) is either a
marriage under the Ordinance or it is noth-
ing. In this case, if the parties had not been
validly married under the Ordinance then
either they are married under Native Law and
Custom or they are not married at all. In ei-
ther case the ceremony in church would have
made not a scrap of difference to their legal
status. (at 199)
Even though this is a judgment of a high
court, it remains the law on the matter until
set aside by a superior court. This judgment
analogically applies to matrimonial relief,
such as marriage nullity, decreed by an ec-
clesiastical tribunal. Such a decree would not
make a scrap of difference to the legal status
of the parties until the marriage is dissolved
by a civil court.
With the compulsory subordination of the
marriage of Christians to the Marriage Act,
t he right of Christians to live and practice
their religion is subjected to hardship, costs,
c onditions which Muslims and traditional
religionist are not subjected to in Nigeria con-
trary to section 42 of the 1999 Constitution
o f Nigeria that prohibits discrimination on
the basis of religion.With the exclusion of Is-
lamic law and customary law marriages from
t he legislative competence of the National
Assembly, Christian marriage as a religious
form of marriage is left at the mercy of the
government of the Federation. The National
Assembly can make any rule it pleases on the
marriage of Christians. The rules include the
onus of:
( a) Having places of worship licensed for
m arriage. Section6(1) of the Marriage Act
states: “The Minister may license any place of
public worship to be a place for the celebra-
tion of marriages, and may at any time cancel
such license; in either case he shall give no-
tice thereof in the Federal Gazette.
(b) Every intending couple placing a notice
of marriage with the State. (s. 10, Marriage
Act)
(c) Every intending couple obtaining a li-
cence to marry from the State . (s. 11, Mar-
riage Act)
(d) Payment of fees to government for mar-
riage, (s. 36, Marriage Act)
( e) Celebrating marriage only within the
time frame specified by the State (ss. 12, 21,
Marriage Act),
( f) Christian religious Minister forbidden
to celebratemarriage according to Christian
form without the registrar’s certificate, (s. 22,
Marriage Act)
(g) Restricting Christian marriage only in
the building licensed by the Minister of In-
ternal Affairs (s. 23)
(h) Exchanging marital consent only in the
manner prescribed by the State. (s. 21, Mar-
riage Act)
(i) Signing government certificate of mar-
riage after celebration of marriage (s. 26, Mar-
riage Act)
(j) Transmitting a copy of signed certificate
of marriage after celebration of marriage to
the marriage registrar and a person who will-
fully neglects to make the transmission shall
be liable on conviction for two years impris-
onment. (s. 43, Marriage Act).
Section 33(2) of the Marriage Act makes a
marriage null and void if both parties know-
ingly and wilfully acquiesce in its celebration
u nder certain conditions. These conditions
include: (a) in any place other than the of-
fice 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) without a registrar’s certificate
of notice or license issued under section 13
of this Act duly issued; or (c) by a person
not being a recognised minister of some reli-
gious denomination or body or a registrar of
marriages. Neither Muslims nor traditional
religionists are subjected to these conditions
in order for their marriage to have legal effects
in the county. These conditions, impede, and
undermine the right to freedom of religion of
Christians and their civil equality with Mus-
lims and traditional religionists.
These statutory hurdles do not simply un-
dermine Christian marriage but also con-
stitutes discriminations against Christians
as citizens. One hallmark of democracy is
equality of citizens and the equality of their
rights. This is undermined by the discrimina-
tory marriage statutes which echo inequality
at different levels in the life of the country.
(a) At the National Assembly: Muslims
and Traditionalists sit to make laws on how
Christians marry whereas Christians do not
have the opportunity to legislate on how they
marry.
(b) In Marriage Administration: Muslims
and Traditionalistsadminister the Marriage
Act by superintending over the marriage of
Christians either as marriage officers or regis-
trars whereas Christians cannot exercise sim-
ilar offices over their own marriages.
(c) In the Judiciary: Muslims sit as judges
hearing and determining marriage cases of
Christians whereas Christians cannot exer-
cise the same role over their marriages be-
cause Christians do not sit in Sharia courts.
What the discriminatory statutory mar-
riage regime has createdin Nigeria is an un-
mitigated apartheid against Christian mar-
riageand Christians. Christians and their
marriage are isolated for persecution and
suppression. It is under this environment that
the present government through the Ministry
of Internal Affairs under Chief Rauf Aregbe-
sola, a Muslim, rolled out the oppressive fees
regime that is meant
