Our focus today is to provide you with adequate information on the advantages and disadvantages of court weddings in Nigeria.
At the end of our discussion, you should be able to make the right decision.
Advantages And Disadvantages Of Court Weddings In Nigeria
A lot of people across Nigeria want a marriage that is legally protected by the law. That’s why they prefer court weddings. This is simply because they will be issued with documents that will back up their union vows.
Every process involved in court marriages is well documented. And these procedures are dully followed following the marriage act.
Intended couples who may want to have their wedding in any courthouse in Nigeria, will find this article interesting.
But before then, let’s see how marriage in the court looks like in Nigeria.
Nigerian Marriage in Court
Having a marriage in any court in Nigeria is a bit stressful.
Considering all the registration process required for court marriage. Besides, there are certain requirements that couples must meet up before they can get married by the law.
And all of them are found in the “Marriage act”.
For example, if any among the intended couple is under the age of 21, the acknowledgment must be brought from his or her parents. In that latter, the parents or gradient must agree that they are aware of the marriage.
There are more to these requirements. But a couple has to be patient to complete all the procedures involved in court marriage. Once registration is complete, a day is to be fixed by intended couples.
The fixed date must be after three months of publication by the registry. And it is to take place in the courtroom.
Beautiful Side of Court Wedding in Nigeria
There’re several benefits to having your marriage done in a courtroom in Nigeria. Unlike traditional and white marriage accompanied with a lot of pressure.
So, let’s see the pros of having a court wedding.
-
Relatively Cheap
For you to get married in the courthouse in Nigeria, it doesn’t cost a lot of money. In fact, your registration forms are made available for you for free. You only pay for state fees, which will not cost you a lot of Nairas.
Compared to other types of weddings that will demand a large sum of money.
Therefore, it’s up to you whether you want an elaborate party after your court marriage or not.
Besides, court wedding is widely acknowledged in Nigeria. And both couples have the right to become ‘MR’ and ‘MRS’. Because a wedding certificate issued by the court is like any other one out there.
Therefore, why bother yourself?
When you can have your marriage done more cheaply.
-
Court Weddings Consume Less Time
Marriage in the courthouse doesn’t take much time to join the couples. In less than an hour, your wedding will be round up successfully. You don’t need to have a long-listed wedding program in the.
This is because the court has its own list of the program which they follow accordingly. And their listed program is very brief and concise.
This is interesting stuff about getting married in court that attracts a lot of intended couples in Nigeria. So their guests can wait until the end of the wedding.
-
Legal Backup
Getting married in a court in Nigeria protects the right of both the man and woman. But it favors the woman more. Because it is believed in Nigeria, that the chances for a man to cheat on his wife is very high.
Therefore, this is where the law against bigamy comes to play.
When any of the newlyweds commits bigamy, he or she is punished according to the law. It is expected that a divorce paper should be issued out before getting another wife or husband.
If not, the culprit will spend five years in prison as punishment for such offense. Unlike other types of marriages, where a partner commits bigamy and goes scot-free.
Furthermore, in situations where divorce is necessary, the woman is entitled to an equal share of every asset the man posses. But this happens only when the man is divorcing his wife.
In others forms of marriage, the one divorce leaves with absolutely nothing.
-
Family’s Opinion Doesn’t Count
In Nigeria, families do interfere in almost everything in traditional or white marriages. But that’s not the case when it comes to court marriage. The two families can’t object to any of the court procedures.
This is because they don’t have any role to play during the marriage arrangement.
The court virtually takes charge of everything right from the start, to the very end.
Most of this interference and objections have crashed so many marriage arrangements in Nigeria. This is why some people prefer to go to court and have their wedding done peacefully.
Ugly Side of Court Wedding in Nigeria
A courthouse marriage in Nigeria has its own bad side. Sometimes have you can have a taste of it even before the wedding. Many people give up before and after their court weddings.
This is because they can no longer bear the burden it comes with it.
Let’s take a look at these ugly sides of getting married in a courthouse in Nigeria.
-
Fear of Divorce
Some partners wants a court wedding just for the riches the other partner, and not for love or companionship. That’s because they’ll be entitled to an equal share of the other partner’s assets.
This is according to Nigerian law, regarding divorce.
Once they have what they want, which is the marriage certificate. Then, they become a living hell to the other party, so that a divorce can be made.
Therefore, lots of people in Nigeria are scared of losing much of their assets for the sake of divorce. Not everyone can afford to lose his possession.
It’s better not to marry in court than to be caught up by this law.
-
Difficult to Register
The registration process for a court wedding is very frustrating. Anyone without endurance can easily opt-out. That’s because of some unnecessary requirements from the court house.
When you obtain a form from the registry’s office, you’ll see a lot of empty spaces for you to fill in your details.
After completing your registration, you’ll have to wait for three months. This is to allow the court to sort out all the paperwork. That’s not the end, you’ll have to come back and continue the filling some other documents.
This is why we say it’s very difficult and frustrating to complete registration in Nigerian courts.
There’re several other cons of court marriages in Nigeria.
If time were by our side, we would love to have discus more on this. But with this little information, we have provided, you now can understand what it takes to have a court wedding in Nigeria.
Besides, every type of marriage has its pro and cons. If you want to marry in court, then go ahead and have it.