By Runsewe Solomon & Akinmolayan Damilola

There are several judicial decisions that are instrumental to the totality of laws guiding divorce process in Nigeria, to establish this, the petitioner must satisfy the court of certain facts or situations (section 15 and 16, Matrimonial Causes Act).The Hope Classics spoke with some legal practitioners on the matter. Excerpts:

Under Nigerian law there is only one ground for divorce, which is that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. To establish this, the petitioner must satisfy the court of certain facts or situations (section 15 and 16, Matrimonial Causes Act). Most of these facts are fault-based, in which case, fault must be alleged and proved by the party seeking dissolution of the marriage.
These facts are:

Mrs Similoluwa Owotomo, ESQ
Lack of consummation of the marriage.
Adultery and the fact that the petitioner finds it intolerable to live with the respondent.
The respondent has behaved in such a way that the petitioner cannot be expected to live with him or her. Sodomy, bestiality, habitual drunkenness or drug addition, frequent crime convictions and lack of reasonable means of support/maintenance and unsound mind can be argued in this regard.
Desertion for a continuous period of at least one year immediately preceding the filing of the petition.
The other party to the marriage has, for at least one year, failed to comply with a decree of restitution of conjugal rights.
The other party to the marriage has been absent from the petitioner for such time and in such circumstances to provide reasonable grounds for presuming that he or she is dead.
Nigeria law also recognises a non-fault based dissolution of marriage. A petitioner will not need to allege fault on the part of the respondent to secure dissolution of marriage where:
The parties to the marriage have lived apart for a continuous period of at least two years immediately preceding the filing of the petition, and the respondent does not object to the dissolution of the marriage.
The parties to the marriage have lived apart for a continuous period of at least three years immediately preceding the filing of the petition.
At the time of the marriage, either party is suffering from a venereal disease in a communicable form.
The wife is pregnant by a person other than the husband.
A petition for nullity of voidable marriage cannot be granted at the instance of the party suffering the incapacity stated above unless the party was unaware of the incapacity at the time of the marriage. A decree of nullity will also not be made under the second, third and fourth bullet points above unless the court is satisfied that all of the following applies:
The petitioner was ignorant of the fact constituting the ground at the time of the marriage.
The petition was filed no later than 12 months after the date of marriage.
Marital intercourse has not taken place with the consent of the petitioner since the petitioner discovered the fact constituting the ground.
A decree of nullity of a void marriage will be made in any of the following instances:
Either of the parties is at the time of the marriage lawfully married to another person.
The parties are within the prohibited degrees of consanguinity and affinity.
valid and subsisting and neither party can remarry while the decree subsists.

Jegede Olusola ,ESQ

The Nigerian Court regard divorce as a delicate affair, it also supports the institution by giving consideration, from time to time, to the possibility of a reconciliation of the parties to the marriage (unless the proceedings are of such a nature that it would not be appropriate to do so). If the final decision of a person is the option of a divorce, there are some prerequisites one must follow that will be discussed hereunder.
The first thing to do after deciding to get a divorce is to consult and brief a divorce lawyer about the divorce. A lawyer will help to determine the facts that constitute the ground for the divorce from the reasons given by the person seeking a divorce. Where from your discussion with the lawyer, it is discovered that you have more than one fact that constitutes a ground for divorce, your lawyer would advise you regarding the fact that has the strongest evidence with proof. There are at least eight facts that constitute a ground for divorce under the Nigerian law.
A marriage celebrated under the Act i.e. Statutory Marriage can only be dissolved on the ground that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. The Court shall hold the marriage to have broken down irretrievably if, and only if, the petitioner satisfies the Court of one or more of the following eight facts‐
That the Respondent has willfully and persistently refused to consummate the marriage. This happens where a party has deliberately refused to have sexual intercourse with the other party despite several requests. The Petitioner must satisfy the Court that consummation of the marriage has not taken place before the commencement of the hearing of the Petition.
That since the marriage the Respondent has committed adultery and the Petitioner finds it intolerable to live with the Respondent
That since the marriage the Respondent has behaved in such a way that the Petitioner cannot reasonably be expected to live with the Respondent.
That the Respondent has deserted the Petitioner for a continuous period of at least one year immediately preceding the presentation of the petition;
That the parties to the marriage have lived apart for a continuous period of at least two years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition and the respondent does not object to a decree being granted. The parties to a marriage shall be treated as living apart unless they are living with each other in the same household.
That the parties to the marriage have lived apart for a continuous period of a least three years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition. The parties to a marriage shall be treated as living apart unless they are living with each other in the same household.

Akinbobola Adeniyi ESQ,

Under the Act, the sole ground for the dissolution of marriage is that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. However, the petitioner must prove one or more of the facts below to establish the ground.
The facts are as follows:
a. that the respondent has wilfully and persistently refused to consummate the marriage;
b. that since the marriage the Respondent has committed adultery and the petitioner finds it intolerable to live with the respondent;
c. that since the marriage the Respondent has behaved in such a manner that the Petitioner cannot reasonably be expected to live with the Respondent;
d. that the Respondent has deserted the Petitioner for a continuous period of at least one year immediately preceding the presentation of the petition;
e. that the parties to the marriage have lived apart for a continuous period of at least 2 years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition and the Respondent does not object to a decree being granted;
f. that the parties to the marriage have lived apart for a continuous period of at least 3 years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition;
g. that the other party to the marriage has, for a period of not less than one year failed to comply with a decree or restitution of conjugal rights made under this Act;
h. that the other party to the marriage has been absent from the Petitioner for such a time and in such circumstances as to provide reasonable grounds for presuming that the Respondent is dead.
It must be emphasised that a petition for dissolution of marriage will not succeed if the petitioner has condoned any of the above facts.

Olorunmeganmi Oladele Esq

The divorce laws and the process of divorce in Nigeria are topical issues for any person contemplating a divorce in Nigeria.
The divorce is clearly not an extremely pleasant subject to discuss, considering its effect. However, it is important for any person seeking to divorce to be fully acquainted with the process.
In accordance with the provisions of the MCA, there can only be one ground upon which a court is actually entitled to dissolve a marriage, which is that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. Nevertheless, subject to the provision of 15 (2) (a) (h) of the Act, there are actually eight various species or perhaps classes of the breakdowns. The eight classes shall be restated as follows:
a. that the respondent has persistently and willfully refused to consummate the marriage;
b. that since the marriage the Respondent has committed adultery and the petitioner finds it intolerable to live with the respondent;
c. that since the marriage the respondent has behaved in such a manner that the petitioner can’t reasonably be expected to live with the respondent;
d. that the respondent has deserted the petitioner for a constant period of at least one year immediately preceding the presentation of the petition;
e. that the parties to the marriage have lived apart for a constant period of a minimum of 2 years immediately preceding the presentation of the respondent as well as the petition doesn’t object to a decree being granted;
f. that the parties to the marriage have lived apart for a constant period of a minimum of 3 years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition;
g. that the other party to the marriage has, for a period of not less than one year failed to comply with a decree or perhaps restitution of conjugal rights made under that Act;
h. that the other party to the marriage has been absent from the petitioner for time that is such and in circumstances that are such as to provide good grounds for presuming that he or perhaps she’s dead.
It is worthy of note that the Nigerian laws are more reluctant to divorce due to the need to protect family values and children of the marriage. Therefore, no concerted efforts have been made over the years to revamp Nigeria divorce laws by making the process easier.
For example, with the big rise in the Nigerian population and with huge amounts of the divorce petitions, a legal marriage divorce can only still be filed in the High court of the states, which are actually very few in numbers in Nigeria. Whereas, the divorce procedure would have been easier had the courts of summary jurisdiction such as Magistrate courts are allowed to hear divorce cases.
In closing, a statutory marriage divorce process is a serious court proceedings in Nigeria, which requires a parties to retain the services of a legal practitioner.

Olusola Samuel, ESQ

Dissolution of marriage popularly called divorce is the putting an end to a lawful marriage by a decree of dissolution. The application for dissolution of marriage is instituted by a petition in the High Court by a petitioner seeking to bring an end to the marriage.
The Act stipulates that a marriage under two (2) years cannot be dissolved, this is called the two-year rule provided for under Section 30 of (the Act) which states that “subject to this section proceedings for a decree of dissolution of marriage shall not be instituted within two years after the date of the marriage except by the leave of court”. Thus to institute a petition for a marriage less than 2 years, the permission of the court must be sought by a motion ex-parte along with the petition for divorce.
There is technically a sole ground for which the petition for dissolution of marriage can be instituted, which is that “the marriage has broken down irretrievably.” This means that the cause of the breakdown is so severe that the marriage cannot be saved. The ground can be proved through the facts as provided in Section 15 (2) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1970
A petition for dissolution of marriage can be presented on the ground that the marriage has broken down irretrievably and the court upon hearing the petition will only grant the order for dissolution of marriage where the petitioner satisfies the court of one or more of the facts listed above.

Omolade Animasahun, ESQ

In accordance with the provisions of the MCA, there can only be one ground upon which a court is actually entitled to dissolve a marriage, which is that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. Nevertheless, subject to the provision of 15 (2) (a) (h) of the Act, there are actually eight various species or perhaps classes of the breakdowns. The eight classes shall be restated as follows:
a. that the respondent has persistently and willfully refused to consummate the marriage;
b. that since the marriage the Respondent has committed adultery and the petitioner finds it intolerable to live with the respondent;
c. that since the marriage the respondent has behaved in such a manner that the petitioner can’t reasonably be expected to live with the respondent;
d. that the respondent has deserted the petitioner for a constant period of at least one year immediately preceding the presentation of the petition;
e. that the parties to the marriage have lived apart for a constant period of a minimum of 2 years immediately preceding the presentation of the respondent as well as the petition doesn’t object to a decree being granted;
f. that the parties to the marriage have lived apart for a constant period of a minimum of 3 years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition;
g. that the other party to the marriage has, for a period of not less than one year failed to comply with a decree or perhaps restitution of conjugal rights made under that Act;
h. that the other party to the marriage has been absent from the petitioner for a time that is such and in circumstances that are such as to provide good grounds for presuming that he or perhaps she’s dead.
By and large, it’s obvious the reasons for grounds for the description of marriage are actually expanded enough to contain most of the issues couple ordinarily raised in the divorce. Nevertheless, each and every one of them may also pose huge difficulties to establish in court. A party contemplating a dissolution of marriage should contact a lawyer to discuss the specific reasons upon which the divorce is actually being sought and for more explanation on every one of the species of the breakdown and the way they fit into individual circumstances.