Grounds for Divorce in Nigerian Law:In Nigeria, there is just one overarching ground/reason for seeking a divorce, viz., “that the marriage has broken down irretrievably.” Does this sound like the “irreconcilable differences” ground for a no-fault divorce? Not at all. Unlike the “irreconcilable differences” of a no-fault divorce, the “irretrievable breakdown” under the Matrimonial Causes Act is not a “blank cheque” – it has specifications, boundaries or limits.

Section 15 of the Act gives certain circumstances or boundaries that must exist before a marriage can be declared to have broken down irretrievable. These are the eight reasons for divorce in Nigeria.

These reasons are called “facts” by the Act, and you must prove that they exist for your petition to succeed. Your circumstance must fall into any of these categories before you can file a petition for divorce in Nigeria.

Grounds for Divorce in Nigerian Law:

(1) Your spouse has refused to consummate the marriage since the wedding.

(2) Your spouse has committed adultery and you can’t tolerate it.

(3) Your spouse has behaved in such a way that makes it difficult for you to continue with the marriage. This is often called the “intolerable behaviour” reason. Such behaviours include rape, drunkenness, conviction for a crime, refusal to carryout marital or conjugal duties etc.

(4) Your spouse has deserted you for one year.

(5) You and your spouse have lived apart for two years and he/she doesn’t object to the divorce.

(6) You and your spouse have lived apart for three years.

(7) Your spouse has for at least one year failed to comply with a court decree to perform his/her conjugal duties to you.

(8) You presume your spouse dead because you have neither heard from nor seen him/her for more than 7 years.

Of all the eight reasons, numbers 3 to 6 are the most common reasons for seeking a divorce in Nigeria. Numbers 4, 5 and 6 usually don’t pose much difficulty to the Judges; this has made some authors to erroneously refer to them as a form of no-fault divorce.

No 2 is seldom used because hard facts are required to prove adultery and the trial often gets messy. This also goes for Number 3, and that’s why not many petitions for divorce are granted on the basis of intolerable behaviour – it requires strict proof of the behaviour.

Number 1 hardly ever surfaces, because it is rare to find couples living together without having sexual intercourse from the first day they got married.

Number 7 is a possibility, but often a spouse just sues for outright divorce instead of seeking the court for an order to compel the offending spouse to perform his/her conjugal duties.

Number 8 is the rarest. Hardly anyone waits that long. They just take it that the spouse has deserted them and file for a divorce under numbers 5 or 6.

Articles on this site are meant to provide general knowledge on divorce law in Nigeria and do not, by any means, substitute for proper consultation with legal experts. Need help? Go Here!

Grounds for Divorce in Nigerian Law: