Formality of Statutory Marriage in Nigeria: Need for a Policy-Driven Construction of the Marriage Act

• Published in: Recht in Afrika
• Main Author: Emeka Chianu
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: German; English; French
• Published: Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG 2016
• Subjects: Asia and Eurasia; Africa; Pacific Area; and Antarctica; KL-KWX; Pacific; Tive; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5771/2363-6270-2016-1-48; https://doaj.org/article/460a208041d84f0894a613def6e0b1b0

The Nigerian Marriage Act 1914 provides certain preliminary formalities which a prospec- tive couple should comply with before celebrating statutory marriage. An examination of the reported decisions shows that the Act’s potency is whittled down because the courts have failed to purposively construe...