2. Essential Validity Of Marriage

The parties to a marriage under the Marriage Act must possess the necessary capacity.

The Marriage Act does not lay down any mandatory age for marriage. This vacuum on an important and fundamental matter is a serious omission which requires immediate remedial action. Before March 1970, when the Matrimonial Causes Actc became effective, one school of thought held the view that the lacunae in the marriage law should be filled by applying the law and practice for the time being in force in England'. If this were accepted, the English age of marriage prescribed by the Marriage Act 1949, which is sixteen years, would be applicable in Nigeria. Whatever may be the validity of this point of view, the possibility of its application has been lost since the 1970 Act came into force, banning the application of English law.

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