The Federal Government’s owned Registry in Ikoyi has been barred from
conducting marriages henceforth as such act will be considered
unconstitutional.
Delivering judgement in
favour of the Lagos State Government, Justice (Prof.) Chuka Aunstine
Obiozor with the reference number SUIT NO: FHC/L/CS/1760/16 of Lagos
High Court on Monday 30th of April 2018, reaffirmed that all the
marriage registries in the Local Government and Local Council
Development Areas in Lagos are the authentic and legally-binding
government division established to carry out such function.
Addressing
a Press Conference on the development on Thursday, the Commissioner for
Local Government and Community Affairs, Muslim Folami said the Ministry
was in the process of officially communicating the development to the
various embassies in the State, stressing that the decision of the court
was supreme and was legally binding on all, the embassies inclusive.
He
added that the news conference was strategically necessary in order to
intimate the various embassies resident in Lagos State, the general
public and the country at large that all Marriages conducted and
registered in any of the 57 Local Government Areas/ Local Council
Development Areas were valid and in accordance with the Marriage Act.
According
to him, the judgment would undoubtedly put a stop to the seeming
perception of superiority of Ikoyi Marriage Registry over the Local
Government Registries.
Folami said that the state government
would explore every available windows to enlighten the general public
about the development, assuring that the Ministry would not hesitate to
schedule meeting with all embassies in the State to enlighten them about
the new judgement if the need arose.
“We are going to use the
five divisions across the state to sensitize our people and inform them
about this latest development. From Epe to Ikorodu, Badagry, Ikeja and
Lagos Island. The sensitization walk which we embarked on today is also a
way of creating awareness and letting the people know of this latest
development.”
He urged the members of the public to take
cognizance of this landmark judgment by patronizing the legal and
approved Marriage Registries for the conduct of their marriages.
Folami
described the judgement as a landmark, saying that the responsibilities
of the LGAs/LCDAs has come back to them by the virtue of the law and as
provided for in Section 30 (1) of the Marriage Act and Section 7 (5) of
the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Speaking,
the President for Marriage Registrars in all LGs/LCDAs, Deji Sokeye,
said the illegal use of power by the Ikoyi Registry had seriously and
negatively affected the revenue drive of the various Councils in the
State, maintained that the judgement would further restore hope and
confidence in the certificates already issued and that would be issued
in future by the local government.
He recalled that a similar
judgement was delivered in favour of the state government in 2004 but
was disregarded by the federal government, stressing that the similar
judgement now delivered by Honourable Justice (Prof) Chuka Austine
Obiozor showed the disposition of the current administration to the rule
of law.
Sokeye disclosed that the State Government had now
devised another means of authenticating its seal which now carry red
seal with a coded block for all the Council Areas across the State.
Speaking
on the authenticity of existing marriage certificates obtained from the
local council areas before the new judgment, the president explained
that the new certificates that would henceforth be issued by the various
council areas did not invalidate the previous certificates.
“There
is nothing wrong with the former certificates that did not carry the
Red Seal, the Red Seal is just an innovation to the former one and it
does not in anyway render the former one invalid,’’ he said.
