A CONTEMPORARY REVIEW OF DIVORCE LAWS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The Matrimonial Causes Act, 2004 (MCA) seems to assert that dissolution of marriages is based on a Non-Fault Theory. The basis is that parties are not to prove any fact leading to the breakdown of the marriage where it is assumed to have broken down irretrievably. Regardless the MCA stipulates certain facts which must be proved in order to sustain an application for divorce; a position that runs contrary to claims of a non- fault based system. Adopting an analytical method, the findings in this work are that the fault based system is not jettisoned in the matrimonial laws of Nigeria. This paper takes the position that clarity on the system of divorce under the MCA will pave way for adopting a particular system for a better legal jurisprudence on marriage. The principal recommendation of this paper is that our courts should conform to global best practice on divorce by operating a no-fault system which circumvents the system imposed troubles on litigants in divorce proceedings.