Abuja:The National Population Commission (NPC) has advocated for a unified national system for marriage and divorce registration, aiming to enhance rights protection and provide reliable data for national planning.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Mrs. Mary Afan, Overseeing Chairman of the commission, made this call during the North-Central Zonal Consultation on the Draft Harmonised Protocol for Marriage and Divorce Registration in Nigeria. Represented by Alhaja Sherifat Olurode, Director of the Public Affairs Department, Afan highlighted that marriage and divorce are significant legal acts impacting spousal support, child custody, inheritance, and property rights.
Afan emphasized that proper notification, registration, and certification would not only protect these rights but also generate vital statistics necessary for evidence-based planning, social protection, and public service delivery. Additionally, the data would support efforts to prevent child marriage and promote gender equality.
Currently, marriage and divorce registration in Nigeria remains fragmented, with various institutions following different procedures and record-keeping practices. Afan noted that reliance on paper-based processes and limited data exchange affects the completeness, timeliness, and reliability of records. The draft protocol aims to establish common procedures, clarify institutional responsibilities, and enhance data management through the electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) system.
Dr. Abuh Mohammed, NPC Director-General, represented by Mrs. Adaku Obodo, Head of Birth and Death Registration, underscored the necessity of data harmonization, stating that a nation as large as Nigeria should maintain a national database on marriage and divorce. Reliable data is crucial for economic planning, protecting citizens’ rights, and monitoring early marriage and divorce.
Dr. Taiwo Ibinaiye, a Data for Development Analyst with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), stressed the importance of a national database for real-time recording of marriages and divorces. This would ensure spouses, particularly women, could establish legal claims to inheritance and other rights, while also reducing reliance on costly population censuses.
Mrs. Fidelia Abbas of UNICEF described CRVS as foundational for legal identity, child protection, social inclusion, and evidence-based development planning. She noted that while birth registration coverage in Nigeria is about 40 percent, comprehensive civil registration remains unachieved.
Aminu Saad, a Judge at the Sharia Court of Appeal, stated that a centralised marriage and divorce database could help resolve inheritance disputes by providing evidence of marital relationships. This system would be particularly useful in cases where competing claims arise over marital relationships with deceased individuals.
The consultation is part of four zonal engagements to review the draft protocol and ensure the final framework aligns with Nigeria’s statutory, customary, Islamic, and Christian marriage systems. Developed at a national workshop in July 2025, the draft protocol seeks to promote digitisation, decentralisation, data protection, and accountability through the CRVS system, including the VITALREG platform.