Many cancellations of marriages at the Igando Marriage Registry in Ikotun, Lagos, has been blamed on coronavirus lockdown, NAN investigations found.

Unlike 2019, when the Igando-Ikotun Local Government Council Development Area (LCDA) recorded no fewer than 170 marriages, 2020 has records of 95, a significant drop caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In an interview with one of the clerks at the registry who pleaded anonymity, NAN learnt that a lot of intending couples cancelled their engagement shortly after the lockdown was eased.

“Upto last week, a guy still came to collect his passport that he was no longer interested, this is someone that ought to have been married since April.

“Some don’t even bother to show up, even though this is probably the most affordable form of marriage, but as typical Nigerians, some still go overboard with it.

“Finance might also be a constraint.

“COVID-19 lockdown really slowed things down, which may be a blessing in disguise for some couples, because it afforded them more time to reappraise their partners.

“With the financial difficulty that came with COVID-19, it made people to re-evaluate things; I don’t think we can surpass the figure we had last year (2019).

“Although we have people that have registered, unless they show up, we can’t conclude based on those who registered alone,’’ the clerk said.

To consummate a marriage, a sum of N12,000, two passport photographs, birth certificates and a 21 days’ notice with counselling are the requirements at the Ikotun-Igando registry.

The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Nigeria was announced on February 27, 2020, the nation then went on lockdown from March 30, 2020, but eased in May 2020.

Lagos has remained the epicenter of the pandemic in Nigeria, accounting for over 50 percent of the cases in Nigeria.