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The Federal Government has dismissed claims by the Lagos State Government that a Federal High Court had shut down the Ikoyi marriage registry.
The Ministry of Interior stated that the court docket, presided over by Justice Chuka Obiozor, merely upheld the judgment of a Federal High Court delivered in 2002, which was not appealed.
It defined that the case, Suit No: FHC/L/CS/1760/16, between Egor Local Government Area, Edo State and three others Vs. Ministry of Interior & others, cited by the Lagos State Government, was really struck out by Justice Obiozor in his judgment delivered on April 30, 2018.
The Director of Legal, Ministry of Interior, Bola Odugbesan, made this identified on Friday, when reacting to a press assertion on Thursday by the Director, Public Affairs, Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs, Bisi Olufuwa.
Speaking to newsmen, Odugbesan introduced a copy of the judgment by Obiozor, who described the case as “an abuse of court process” and struck it out.
The Director insisted that the Federal High Court by no means ordered the closure of Ikoyi Marriage Registry, as claimed by Olufuwa.
He mentioned: “In the case, the court docket was invited to interpret the provisions of the Constitution conferring on native governments the powers to register marriages.
“The Minister of Interior, by his Counsel, Bola Odugbesan, argued that underneath merchandise 61 of the Exclusive List, issues linked with marriage underneath the Marriage Act, issuing of marriage certificates and its registration are outdoors the purview of state and/or native governments.
“The Federal High Court in its judgment dated April 30, 2018, struck out the case of the plaintiffs, i.e., Egor LGA & Ors.
“The court docket held that the case is an abuse of the court docket course of in view of the sooner judgment of the court docket in 2002, which upheld the sanctity of the rights of the minister to concern licences to locations of worship to conduct marriages, and the registrar underneath the Marriage Act to register marriages.
“It is instructive to note that Lagos State was not a party in the case.”