Church marriage is recognized under the laws of Nigeria and some requirements must be met before it will be considered onsidered valid. One of these requirements is that it must be done in the presence of at least a few people from both sides of the parties getting married and it must have to be done between 6 am to 8 pm. Any marriage done before 6 am or after 8 pm may be labeled invalid. The reason why this is a requirement is that witnesses can testify that a marriage contract happened and the time is reasonable enough.
Another reason is that the minister must be a recognized minister of that religious denomination. For instance, if a couple wishes to marry in a catholic church, the ceremony must be performed by a catholic priest. In any other case, the pastor or recognized minister can anchor the ceremony and join the couple in holy matrimony. If this recruitment is neglected in any way, the church wedding may not be considered valid by Nigerian laws and thus the union will not be recognized by the law. In addition, a pastor from another denomination cannot solemnize a catholic wedding or it will not be valid.
Section 21 of the Marriage Act stipulates that a church wedding will be valid if it is done in a place of worship that is licensed. Although there are a lot of churches in Nigeria, the are a few churches that are licensed to conduct a church wedding. Therefore, it is important for a couple to carefully consider the church they wish to be joined together in and be sure that the church can lawfully join them together in holy matrimony. Any marriage which s solemnized in a place of worship that is not licensed is not valid under the law.
Source: Opera news
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