While the federal government reduced the fees for registering marriages in Nigeria, corrupt officials of marriage registries have continued to extort prospective couples by charging above the official rate – diverting millions of naira into their personal bank accounts, and shortchanging the federal government. This investigation looks at the corrupt practices and loopholes through which a system frustrates its own online registration portal and forces citizens into mandatory bribes. TAIWO ADEBULU went undercover to expose the fraud in the marriage registration process.
Next to a passport, a marriage certificate is arguably the most coveted official document one can hope to obtain in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation. For a visa application, couples need a valid marriage certificate, and registering a marriage with the appropriate government agency is non-negotiable. Therefore, every week, hundreds of Nigerians troop to the registries to exchange conjugal vows and seal their union.
While some applicants go to the local government registries, others prefer the registries controlled by the ministry of interior, the federal government agency saddled with the responsibility of conducting marriage services. The legal battle between these two known registrars over who has the authority to issue marriage certificates is fuelled by widespread speculations that foreign embassies in Nigeria do not accept marriage certificates from local government registries. This perception of superiority conferred on the Ikoyi registry was challenged when a Lagos high court ruled in 2018 that marriages conducted and registered in the state’s local councils are also valid.
Nevertheless, many applicants still believe that weddings conducted at federal registries are the most recognised and acceptable. The seven federal registry offices in Abuja, Lagos, Imo, Edo, Kano, Plateau and Rivers states, therefore, continue to receive a larger number of applicants.
Inside Nigeria’s Most Patronised Marriage Registry
The federal marriage registry in Ikoyi sits on Alfred Rewane Road, Lagos Island, with one of its nearest landmarks being the Falomo Bridge, famous for columns encircled with murals that pay homage to the 276 schoolgirls who were abducted in 2014 by the Boko Haram terrorist group in Chibok, Borno State. Just three minutes walk from the portraits of the girls and the shade of Falomo Bridge, brings one to the place often touted as Nigeria’s most patronised registry.
Here, weddings are conducted from Wednesdays to Saturdays, with the exception of public holidays. Special applications are considered on request for Mondays and Tuesdays, at extra cost. Nevertheless, the registry is always full to the brim on wedding days.
I went undercover to the Ikoyi registry, posing as one of the hundreds of applicants from the six states of the South-west region hoping to get married. At the entrance, each visitor was assigned an official; Elsy was mine.
Arriving at the registry, you cannot miss the business of the day. Propped against the wall were three frumpy wedding gowns, flapping in the wind, on the right side of the entrance. Next to the outfits stood three headless, unclad mannequins; their nakedness possibly due to the fact that the gowns they once carried had been rented by some of the couples waiting their turn in the wedding hall. Opposite the entrance was a travel and tour company that claimed to assist with student visas, work permits, medical visas and tours outside of Nigeria.
I told Elsy, the official handling my case, that I was no longer interested in the wedding gowns; that I did not have any registration documents required (the bachelorhood and birth certificates). She immediately referred me to another woman in a light denim shirt and jeans, who was sitting outside the row of offices. Her gold-hoop earrings were caught in the straps of a face mask covering her chin.
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