Child Marriage in Nigeria: Examining the Challenges of a Pluralistic Legal Framework

I. Introduction

The problem of child marriage in Nigeria remains prevalent despite the country’s international commitments and domestic legislation. Nigeria operates a pluralistic legal framework on child marriage, comprising statutory marriage under the Marriage Act and the Child Rights Act 2003, and non-statutory marriages under both Islamic law and customary law. These regimes produce inconsistent rules on the minimum age for marriage.

This article argues that the inconsistencies, particularly the one between the Marriage Act, which allows persons under 21 to marry with parental consent, and the Child Rights Act, which absolutely prohibits marriage under 18, create legal uncertainty that undermines child protection. The article analyses the requirements under each regime, examines the legal paradox that their coexistence creates, and makes targeted recommendations.

Its scope is confined to the regulation and protection of children from marriage; general reference to marriage law is made only as necessary background. The article proceeds in five further parts. Part II sets out the constitutional and structural framework for Nigeria’s pluralistic marriage regimes. Part III describes the age and capacity requirements under the Marriage Act, the Child Rights Act, customary law, and Islamic law. Part IV analyses the conflicts, gaps, and enforcement deficits arising from their coexistence. Part V proposes reforms, and Part VI concludes.

II. The Legal Framework Governing Marriage in Nigeria

Nigeria’s pluralistic framework on marriage derives its backing from the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) (CFRN) itself. The Constitution recognises not just statutory marriage under the Marriage Act, but also customary marriage and Islamic marriage, as three distinct marriage regimes. It vests exclusive legislative competence over the formation, annulment, and dissolution of marriages in the National Assembly, to the exclusion of both customary and Islamic marriages.¹ The consequence of this exclusion is that legislative authority over customary and Islamic marriages falls under the residual competence of the states. The recognition of Islamic personal law is further reinforced by the CFRN through the establishment of the Sharia Court of Appeal and the definition of its jurisdiction.²

From this constitutional structure, one may deduce two broad categories of marriage in Nigeria. The first is statutory marriage, contracted under the Marriage Act and regulated by the federal government.³ The second is non-statutory marriage, which comprises both customary and Islamic marriages, contracted outside the Marriage Act and regulated by the states. The relationship between these regimes may be better understood through the Marriage Act, which prohibits a person who has contracted a statutory marriage from contracting a later marriage while that marriage subsists.⁴ This rule applies to customary marriage but not to Islamic marriage, which permits polygamy.

Finally, it is pertinent to note that the Child Rights Act does not enjoy nation-wide application.⁵ Rather, its application depends on specific adoption by the House of Assembly of each state in Nigeria. This structural feature has implications for the uniform regulation and protection of children from marriage, a matter to which this article shall return.

III. Marriageable Age and the Regulation of Child Marriage

Upon discussing the topic of marriage, the question of the minimum age for marriage inevitably arises at some point. At first glance, it might appear to be a simple question, but given Nigeria’s pluralistic legal framework on marriage, this may not be the case. Essentially, the question of the age at which an individual is legally capable of contracting a valid marriage in Nigeria remains fragmented and uncertain.

The Marriage Act, being the principal legislation on marriage in Nigeria, does not specify any minimum age requirement for marriage but operates a consent-based framework for persons under the age of 21.⁶ Section 18 of the Act permits the marriage of any person under the age of 21 years on the condition that the consent of the individual’s father, mother, or guardian, as the case may be, is obtained.⁷ The Act goes further to criminalise the marriage of such individuals without the prescribed consent, rendering anyone found liable to two years’ imprisonment.⁸ Critically, however, the Marriage Act does not prohibit marriage at any age and merely prescribes a condition for the marriage of persons under 21 years of age. In addition, the Act does not clearly define “marriageable age”.

The Child Rights Act 2003 adopts an entirely different approach. It establishes that in every action concerning a child, the best interest of that child must be prioritised.⁹ It then goes further to define a child as any person under the age of 18.¹⁰ Section 21 of the Child Rights Act also adds that no person under the age of 18 years (a child according to the Act) is capable of contracting a marriage, and any marriage so contracted is rendered null and void, and of no effect whatsoever.¹¹ In addition, Sections 22 and 23 respectively prohibit the betrothal of a child and stipulate the punishments for contravention.¹²

The Child Rights Act adopts a more specific approach to the minimum age requirement compared to the other regimes. Notably, however, the Act does not enjoy nation-wide application and therefore requires that the House of Assembly of each state within Nigeria domesticate it. This is to say that the Act does not apply throughout Nigeria, and this remains a fundamental gap in the framework. In addition, no provision in the Child Rights Act makes the prohibition of “child marriage” applicable notwithstanding the customary and Islamic law regimes. The Act appears not to account for the pluralistic reality of the Nigerian marriage framework.

Customary marriage, duly recognised as a valid form of marriage in Nigeria, is contracted in accordance with the customs and traditions of the relevant parties. By nature, it differs from one community to another as it is largely unwritten. Consequently, it may be difficult to ascertain the specific minimum age requirements for marriage, if any. Under most customs in Nigeria, however, capacity to contract a marriage is tied to puberty or physical maturity rather than a minimum age threshold. In Nsirim v Nsirim,¹³ the Court of Appeal identified, inter alia, the capacity of the parties as an essential element of a valid customary marriage but did not prescribe a specific numerical age for that capacity.

Finally, Islamic law similarly anchors marriageable age to the concept of puberty (bulugh), rather than a fixed statutory age.¹⁴ Under Islamic law, once a girl reaches puberty, she is regarded as being of full age and capacity to contract a marriage. This approach is recognised by Sections 262 and 277 of the CFRN, which establish the Sharia Court of Appeal and define its jurisdiction over Islamic personal law matters, including marriage.¹⁵ The practical effect of this is that a child well below the age of 18 years may contract a marriage as long as the puberty requirement is met.

State-level legislation further complicates the landscape. Kano State enacted its Child Protection Law in 2023, which was welcomed by UNICEF as incorporating the federal Child Rights Act into the state’s legal framework.¹⁶ However, while Section 2 of the Kano law defines a child as a person below 18 years, Section 16(2) creates an exception where “the child’s culture permits the marriage”.¹⁷ A 2025 legal analysis observed that this provision defines a child for marriage purposes as a person below puberty, creating ambiguity and providing leeway for the practice of child marriage.¹⁸ The practical impact was demonstrated in August 2026, when the Kano State Government conducted a mass wedding involving a 17-year-old bride.¹⁹ Zamfara State passed its Child Protection Law in 2022, and the state government has reaffirmed its commitment to enforcing the law.²⁰ However, no public sources indicate explicit modifications to the 18-year marriage age requirement in the Zamfara law.

IV. Conflicts, Gaps, and Enforcement Deficits

The preceding section reveals several inconsistencies across the legal frameworks on the issue of the minimum age requirement for marriage. The most immediate conflict remains that between the Marriage Act and the Child Rights Act. While the Child Rights Act clearly defines a child as a person below the age of 18 and specifically renders marriages contracted by persons in this category null and void, the Marriage Act permits the marriage of persons below the age of 21 as long as the requisite consent has been granted. These two provisions create a legal paradox, raising the question of whether a marriage contracted by a 17-year-old under the Marriage Act is legally valid. The conflict is further complicated by the Marriage Act’s failure to define “marriageable age”, as well as the absence of any reference in either statute to the other. Consequently, the legal status of a child spouse remains uncertain.

The CFRN, as the grundnorm in Nigeria, does not decisively resolve this conflict. It provides for and safeguards, in Chapter IV, fundamental human rights such as the right to personal liberty and the right to dignity of the person.²¹ It, however, proceeds to state in Section 29(4)(b) that a married woman is “deemed to be of full age”, undermining the mischief the Child Rights Act aims to address by setting 18 as the minimum age.²²

Another structural gap is the requirement that individual states domesticate the Child Rights Act before it becomes applicable as law in their jurisdictions. In accordance with Section 12(2) of the CFRN, the National Assembly enacted the Child Rights Act in 2003. However, the Act does not automatically apply to the federation and requires domestication by individual states. This is because child welfare is a matter that falls under the residual legislative list.²³ This structural feature encourages fragmentation and prevents uniformity in the regulation of children. Consequently, the safeguards afforded to a child may differ from one state to another.

The tension between statutory and non-statutory regimes raises a fundamental question: to what extent can Islamic and customary law rules permitting child marriage be challenged in Nigerian courts? Under the received English legal tradition, customary law is typically subject to the repugnancy test, which provides that rules repugnant to natural justice, equity, and good conscience ought not to be enforced.

In Mojekwu v Mojekwu,²⁴ the Court of Appeal held that any custom which discriminates against women or girls is repugnant to natural justice, equity, and good conscience. This establishes that discriminatory customary rules are subject to judicial invalidation. However, the Supreme Court in Mojekwu v Iwuchukwu²⁵ took a more cautious approach, effectively overruling the Court of Appeal’s invalidation of the discriminatory custom. This illustrates the judicial reluctance to apply the repugnancy test to deeply entrenched customary and religious practices.

Courts have been notably reluctant to apply the repugnancy test to Islamic personal law, considering its constitutional recognition.²⁶ Islamic law anchors marriageable age to the concept of puberty (bulugh) rather than a fixed statutory age. Consequently, marriage under Islamic law may be contracted at an age significantly below 18, provided the individual has attained puberty. In Sharia-implementing states, this permissive approach has been maintained, with legislators in states such as Kano and Zamfara explicitly rejecting the Child Rights Act’s 18-year requirement on the grounds of inconsistency with Islamic laws and principles.²⁷

V. Recommendations for Reform

The most immediate reform required is the harmonisation of the Marriage Act and the Child Rights Act 2003 on this issue. The legal paradox that these Acts create, as previously examined, produces legal uncertainty. The Marriage Act should be amended to expressly raise the “marriageable age” to 18 years, aligning it with the Child Rights Act. The provisions of the Marriage Act that permit the marriage of persons under 18 with consent should be repealed to ensure clarity and remove any loophole.

Beyond harmonisation, the pluralistic framework itself requires reform. The coexistence of statutory, customary, and Islamic marriage regimes creates a fragmented approach that undermines child protection in Nigeria. Although the Constitution recognises the non-statutory regimes, this recognition should not operate as a shield for child marriage. A clear legislative provision should be enacted, stating that, notwithstanding any customary or Islamic law, no person under 18 years is capable of contracting a valid marriage. This would not abolish customary and Islamic laws but would subject them to a uniform age requirement, ensuring uniform child protection across Nigeria, regardless of the regime under which the marriage is contracted.

The current federal structure that requires domestication by individual states is another factor to be considered. The removal or modification of key provisions that safeguard children, such that they fail to address the child marriage mischief, should be discouraged. Additionally, child and child welfare matters are not included in the Exclusive Legislative List. This feature leaves the child protection framework fragmented in Nigeria. Child and child welfare matters should therefore be included in the Exclusive Legislative List to strengthen child protection generally and to signal the priority of child safeguarding.

The Constitution itself presents another obstacle to safeguarding children from marriage. It provides that any married woman is deemed to be an adult, thereby implicitly granting legitimacy to child marriage. This provision ought to be repealed or amended in order to enforce the Child Rights Act’s definition of a child and further guarantee child protection in Nigeria.

VI. Conclusion

This article has examined the regulation of child marriage under Nigerian law, revealing a framework marked by significant internal inconsistencies. The Marriage Act, the Child Rights Act, customary law, and Islamic law operate with conflicting rules on the minimum age of marriage, creating legal uncertainty that undermines child protection. The federal structure of Nigeria further complicates the picture, with uneven domestication and enforcement of the Child Rights Act across states. Judicial intervention has been limited, and the Constitution itself contains provisions that conflict with the protective intent of the Child Rights Act. The pluralistic framework, while constitutionally mandated, should not operate to shield child marriage from legal scrutiny.

The ongoing review of the Child Rights Act, inaugurated in 2026, presents an opportunity to address these gaps. However, legislative reform must be accompanied by strengthened enforcement, constitutional reform, and sustained social and cultural change. The protection of children from marriage is not merely a legal obligation; it is a shared national duty and a fundamental human rights imperative.

Footnote(S):

¹ Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, sch 2, pt I, item 61.

² Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, ss 262, 277.

³ Marriage Act 2004.

⁴ Marriage Act 2004, s 35.

⁵ Child Rights Act 2003.

⁶ Marriage Act 2004.

⁷ Marriage Act 2004, s 18.

⁸ Marriage Act 2004, s 48.

⁹ Child Rights Act 2003, s 1.

¹⁰ Child Rights Act 2003, s 277.

¹¹ Child Rights Act 2003, s 21. See also ‘Nigerian Lawyers call for domestication of Child Rights Acts in all states’ (Daily Nigerian, 27 May 2021) <https://dailynigerian.com> accessed 20 August, 2026

¹² Child Rights Act 2003, ss 22-23.

¹³ Nsirim v Nsirim (1995) 9 NWLR (Pt 418) 144 (CA)

¹⁴ Mohammed Subhain Hussain, ‘Islamic Law on Child Marriages’ (2018) 1 NILS UK Law Review 163, 164.

¹⁵ Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, ss 262, 277.

¹⁶ ‘UNICEF hails Kano govt. for enacting child protection law’ (The News Nigeria, 12 June 2023) <https://thenewsnigeria.com.ng> accessed 19 August 2026.

¹⁷ ‘Kano Enacted Child Protection Law 3 Years Ago. It Allows Resident to “Marry 17-Year-Old” Girl’ (FIJ, 10 August 2026) <https://fij.ng> accessed 19 August 2026.

¹⁸ Ibid.

¹⁹ Ibid.

²⁰ ‘Zamfara Assembly passes Child Protection Bill into law, others’ (Daily Post, 16 August 2022) <https://dailypost.ng> accessed 19 August 2026.

²¹ Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, ch IV.

²² Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, s 29(4)(b). See also ‘Child marriage in Nigeria: a legal analysis’ (University of the Western Cape) noting: “Section 29(4)(b) of the Constitution for instance, indirectly recognises adulthood through marriage, thereby undermining the intent of the Child Rights Act.”

²³ Child Rights Act 2003. See also Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, sch 2, pt I, item 61.

²⁴ Mojekwu v Mojekwu (1997) 7 NWLR (PT. 512) 283.

²⁵ Mojekwu v Iwuchukwu (2004) 11 NWLR (Pt 883) 196 (SC).

²⁶ Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, ss 262, 277.

²⁷ ‘The Child’s Rights Act vs. Sharia Law: Girl-child Marriage In Nigeria’ (Studentbriefs, 3 May 2022) <https://studentbriefs.law.gwu.edu> accessed 19 August 2026.

Reference(S):

Table of Cases

• Mojekwu v Iwuchukwu (2004) 11 NWLR (Pt 883) 196 (SC)
• Mojekwu v Mojekwu (1997) 7 NWLR (Pt 512) 283 (CA)
• Nsirim v Nsirim (1995) 9 NWLR (Pt 418) 144 (CA)

Table of Legislation

• Child Rights Act 2003
• Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999
• Marriage Act 2004
• Matrimonial Causes Act 2004

Bibliography

• ‘Campaigners seek removal of constitutional provision that “condones” child marriage’ (Pulse, 28 May 2021)
• ‘Child Custody In Nigeria: How Courts Decide’ (Mondaq, 13 December 2024)
• ‘Child marriage in Nigeria: a legal analysis of domestic laws and customary practices in relation to international human rights standards’ (University of the Western Cape)
• ‘Customary Marriage in Nigeria’ (Ebelechukwu Law Firm, 8 March 2026)
• Equal Rights Trust, ‘Mojekwu v Mojekwu [1997] 7 NWLR 283’
• Hussain MS, ‘Islamic Law on Child Marriages’ (2018) 1 NILS UK Law Review 163
• ‘Kano Enacted Child Protection Law 3 Years Ago. It Allows Resident to “Marry 17-Year-Old” Girl’ (FIJ, 10 August 2026)
• National Centre for Women Development, A Compilation of Constitution, Statutes, Regulations, Bye-laws, Policies & Practices Relating to the Statuses of Women (NCWD)
• ‘Nigerian Lawyers call for domestication of Child Rights Acts in all states’ (Daily Nigerian, 27 May 2021)
• ‘Penaldo’s Posts’ (Nairaland, 26 April 2024)
• ‘Regulate those religious institutions found to engage in such practices’ (barhumanrights.org.uk)
• Reply to the issues raised in part II of the list of issues (UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, 28 May 2010)
• ‘The Child’s Rights Act vs. Sharia Law: Girl-child Marriage In Nigeria’ (Studentbriefs, 3 May 2022)
• ‘UNICEF hails Kano govt. for enacting child protection law’ (The News Nigeria, 12 June 2023)
• ‘Zamfara Assembly passes Child Protection Bill into law, others’ (Daily Post, 16 August 2022)
• ‘Zamfara Partners Security Agencies To Enforce Child Protection Law’ (Leadership, 11 July 2026)