By Hameed Ajibola Jimoh Esq.

BACKGROUND:

In Nigeria, there have been several reasons necessitating the need for ‘Islamic Marriage Certificate’ especially, to prove that the said couple(s) are legally married under the Islamic Personal/Family Law. To this extent, there has been an issue as to whether a Muslim or Muslim couple who resides in a State within which Islamic court or Sharia Court has not been established by the Legislative Arm of the government (i.e. the State House of Assembly) of that State or where a Sharia Court is established in that State but the Islamic Marriage Registry has not been so established therein, has any alternative to resolve his Islamic Personal Law/Family Law issues as regard the issue of need of a ‘Marriage Certificate’? A number of Muslims in Nigeria, especially living in States in which ‘Islamic Marriage Registry’ has not been established or where a Sharia Court is established in that State but the ‘Islamic Marriage Registry’ has not been so established therein, have had to suffer rejection (either for employment or travelling purposes or other purposes) continuously with no rescue. This urgent need for this ‘Islamic Marriage Certificate’ has forced a number of Muslims to seek and obtain the ‘Marriage Certificate’ of the Common Law Courts and notwithstanding the likely implications and or consequences of such ‘Non-Islamic Marriage Certificate’ to their marriage, pursuant to the Marriage Act, 2004. Some of the Nigerian States such as the Federal Capital Territory-Abuja, have established Islamic Marriage Registry (and laid down the procedures for same) to issue marriage certificate to Muslims across Nigeria (including those Nigerian Muslims who reside abroad). Some Muslims have been taking advantage of this benefit while some Muslims of other States might not be aware or some of this Muslims might be in doubt as to whether the law permits them to obtain such Islamic Marriage Certificate in the Sharia Court(s) of other State where they are not resident. This is the question that this paper aims to answer and convince and or assure such Muslims that the law (in fact, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended)- herein after referred to as the Constitution) permits them or any Muslim to obtain such Islamic Marriage Certificate without the need to obtain the Marriage Certificate of the Common Law Courts, for whatever purpose that he needs the certificate for. From my observations, such marriage certificate is often requested or required at the need of either: National Youth Service Corps; travelling to outside the country of Nigeria; some Embassies; some Islamic Family Law matters such as: inheritance, etc. to issue matrimonial causes (cases or legal issues) arising from some Muslims’ marriages and other aspects of the Islamic Personal Law.

I continued to research and pondered and reasoned on the non-establishment of the Islamic Marriage Registry in each of the States of the Federation to make it easy for Muslims residing or resident in any of those States to obtain with ease and comfort rather than having to travel or undergo untold hardship (if not denial) of benefits of same as well as the tribulations befalling some of our Muslims in need of the said Islamic Marriage Certificate. I have been researching and reasoning at the same time as well as praying fervently to Allaah to guide me through a workable and tenable solution! Alhamdulillah! The thoughts as well as the legal arguments and solutions came upon me from Allaah which is the subject matter of this paper though, sometimes around the year 2018, I had made some recommendations to the Honourable, the Grand Kadi of the Sharia Court of Appeal, FCT-Abuja, to establish the Islamic Marriage Registry to be issuing Islamic Marriage Certificate to Muslims to. Alhamdulillah! The Honourable, the Grand Kadi considered my recommendations and granted my prayers for same and therefore established the ‘Islamic Marriage Registry’ for Nigerian Muslims across the Worlds which has been in operation till date with very simple, friendly procedures and cheap to afford financially! May Allaah continue to reward My Lord, the Honourable Grand Kadi of the Sharia Court of Appeal, FCT-Abuja (Honourable Justice Rufai Imam)! Aamiin!)! I therefore humbly seek the reader of this paper to read and study this piece with open mind in reasoning along with my reasoning towards the solutions and positions that I have maintained in this paper as a way of relief or rescue to our Muslims in States that Sharia Courts and or Islamic Marriage Registry have not been established. I am strengthened with some solutions as rescue which form the bases or foundation of this current legal article and that is the reason for this article. I pray and I am hopeful that these acts or efforts of mine would be rewarded by Allaah and would be able to guide Muslims in those States of Nigeria which do not have any Sharia Court or those States that have Sharia Courts but have no Islamic Marriage Registry established therein to make use of same for their needs! May Allaah accept these efforts as act of sadaqatun jaariyah (i.e. a continuous good deed) from me and I seek my brothers in Islam to also always remember me in their good prayers while I continue to pray to Allah for more knowledge, wisdom and understanding! Hence this topic.

INTRODUCTION:

First and foremost, in my humble submission, a ‘Certificate’ in the instance of this paper is just a confirmation that such Islamic marriage took place according to Islamic Family Law; it is not a conclusive evidence of such Islamic marriage, though. It is only a prima facie evidence that such marriage took place as claimed by the person tendering such certificate and in appropriate cases, it (i.e. the certificate) can be challenged and rendered invalid, null and void, where certain facts have occurred to rebut the facts of the existence of such Islamic marriage or the existence of any acts that invalidate marriage in Islamic Family Law. Therefore, the marriage certificate does not precede the conduct of such Islamic marriage. For instance, the Nigerian Common Law Courts have had the opportunity of deciding on ‘WHETHER A CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY CONSTITUTE A VALID TITLE TO LAND IN FAVOUR OF THE GRANTEE’ and the Courts held thus “A certificate of occupancy issued under the Land Use Act is not conclusive evidence of any interest or valid title to the land in favour of the grantee. It is only a prima facie evidence of such right, interest or title without more, and may, in appropriate cases, be challenged and rendered invalid, null and void. Consequently, where it is proved, that another person, other than the grantee of a certificate of occupancy had a better title to the land, the Court may set it aside on the ground that it is invalid, defective or spurious. See also the following decided cases by the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal; Dsungwe Vs Gbishe; Ogunleye Vs Oni (1990) 2 NWLR (Pt. 135) P. 745; Saude Vs Abdullahi; Olohunde Vs Adeyoju and Lababedi Vs Lagos Metal Ind. Ltd (1990) 2 NWLR (Pt. 135) P. 745. PER I.S.BDLIYA, J.C.A.

Hence, this paper considers the powers of the respective Honourable Grand Kadis of the various Islamic Courts or Sharia Courts in Nigeria to establish Islamic Marriage Registry to issue Islamic Marriage Certificate, as well as the permissibility of a Muslim or Muslim couple who resides in a State within which Islamic court or Sharia Court has not been established by the Legislative Arm of the government (i.e. the State House of Assembly) of that State or where a Sharia Court is established in that State but the Islamic Marriage Registry has not been so established therein, to obtain such Islamic Marriage Certificate from other Sharia Court of Appeal or Sharia Court of other State (either a neighboring State or not). Hence, the title of this paper.

MUSLIMS’ RIGHT TO ‘RELIGION’ AND ‘PRACTICE OF RELIGION’ IN NIGERIA

Apart from the International Laws such as the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (as an International Law to which Nigerian is a signatory and had adopted same as binding in Nigeria) which guarantees the right of every person to ‘religion’ which provides in Article 8 thus ‘Freedom of conscience, the profession and free practice of religion shall be guaranteed. No one may, subject to law and order, be submitted to measures restricting the exercise of these freedoms.’ [I] of the Constitution (supra) and other legal authorities that I have relied upon in this paper. Therefore, any Muslim or Muslim couple that resides in a State within which Islamic Court or Sharia Court has not been established by the Legislative Arm of the government (i.e. the State House of Assembly) or where a Sharia Court of Appeal has been so established in that State but an Islamic Marriage Registry has not been so established by the Grand Kadi of that Sharia Court of Appeal, may approach any of the Sharia Courts established by any of the States of the Federation in Nigeria to obtain such Islamic Certificate without the need to obtain the Marriage Certificate from a non-Islamic or Common Law Court or Marriage Registry (as some Muslims do this days out of frustration and or compulsion by circumstances) and such Islamic Marriage Certificate is admissible in evidence before any Sharia Court for any evidential purposes before any: Ministry; embassy; etc. having regard to the provisions of section 262(2)(a) and (b) (and 277(2)(a) and (b)) of the Constitution (supra) and other legal authorities that I have relied upon in this paper.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION:

It is therefore my humble submission that there is no provision of the Constitution that prohibits the Honourable Grand Kadi of the Sharia Court of Appeal of the Sharia Court of Appeal of each State (FCT- here is regarded as a State) from establishing such Islamic Marriage Registry to issue Islamic Marriage Certificate to Nigerian Muslims and there is no such prohibition under the Constitution prohibiting any person or Muslim or Muslim couple who resides in a State that have no Sharia Court established in that State or which has Sharia Court of Appeal established but Islamic Marriage Registry has not been established therein, to obtain Islamic Marriage Certificate from any of the Sharia Courts of Appeal established in any other States to resolve his or her Islamic Personal Law/Family Law matters or needs. It is therefore my humble submission that: the Honourable Grand Kadi of the Sharia Court of Appeal of each State (FCT- here is regarded as a State) has such ‘incidental powers’ to establish such Islamic Marriage Registry to issue Islamic Marriage Certificate to Nigerian Muslims; and any Muslim or Muslim couple that resides in a State within which Islamic Court or Sharia Court has not been established by the Legislative Arm of the government (i.e. the State House of Assembly) or where a Sharia Court of Appeal has been so established in that State but an Islamic Marriage Registry has not been so established by the Grand Kadi of that Sharia Court of Appeal, may approach any of the Sharia Courts established by any of the States of the Federation in Nigeria to obtain such Islamic Certificate without the need to obtain the Marriage Certificate from a non-Islamic or Common Law Court or Marriage Registry (as some Muslims do this days out of frustration and or compulsion by circumstances) and such Islamic Marriage Certificate is admissible in evidence before any Sharia Court for any evidential purposes before any: Ministry; embassy; etc. having regard to the provisions of section 262(2)(a) and (b) (and 277(2)(a) and (b)) of the Constitution (supra) and other legal authorities that I have relied upon in this paper.

I also recommend (humbly) that each of the Honourable Grand Kadis of each of the Sharia Courts of Appeal in Nigeria should utilize His Lordship’s ‘incidental powers’ under the law (as I had submitted above) to establish the Islamic Marriage Registry in their respective State for the Muslims in that State to benefit from as well as the Muslims of other States in Nigeria, who are Nigerians (home and abroad) especially too, those Muslims residing within the State in which Islamic Court or Sharia Court has not been established by the Legislative Arm of the government (i.e. the State House of Assembly) or where a Sharia Court of Appeal has been so established in that State but an Islamic Marriage Registry has not been so established by the Grand Kadi of that Sharia Court of Appeal, so that such Muslim may approach any of the Sharia Courts established by any of the States of the Federation in Nigeria to obtain such Islamic Certificate without the need to obtain the Marriage Certificate from a non-Islamic or Common Law Court or Marriage Registry (as some Muslims do this days out of frustration and or compulsion by circumstances) and such Islamic Marriage Certificate is admissible in evidence before any Sharia Court for any evidential purposes before any: Ministry; embassy; etc.

Finally, I accept every error of thought and reasoning and writing etc. in this paper as that of mine. I assure that the error is not made deliberately but as a human error and I accept responsibility for such error while I pray to Almighty Allaah to forgive me and overlook my shortcomings made in this paper and to accept it as rewarding deed for me and as a source of granting me Al-Jannatul Firdaws! Aamiin!

For any further engagement or consultation or discussion with me on this topic by the reader of this paper, I can be reached on the below contacts.

Email: hameed_ajibola@yahoo.com 08168292549 (WhatsApp number and for calls).