THE OFFENCE OF BIGAMY IN NIGERIA: A PAPER TIGER?

Abstract

Marriage is a social and legal relationship which the law protects in order to preserve its sanctity and marital bond. Nigeria is characterized by ethnic, cultural and religious diversity. It is equally a patriarchal society, therefore, bigamy is not generally seen as a profound violation of the marriage institution. Because of these difference, persons have the choice of selecting the type of marriage suitable to their way of life. There are numerous legal frameworks governing bigamy in Nigeria such as statutory provisions and case laws. However, the enforcement mechanism is weak thereby resulting to the persistence in the commission of the offence. The recent decision of court in Mohammed v Mohammed has further added to the confusion as to whether the offence still exist under the Nigerian laws. This paper uses both primary and secondary sources of doctrinal legal research comprising of statutory provisions, case laws, law textbooks, journals, articles and other online materials to analyse information set out. It finds that the rate at which the offence is committed in Nigeria has greatly increased as a result of weak enforcement mechanism. It concludes that commission of bigamy persist in Nigeria due to socio-religious differences and inefficiency of extant laws. It recommends strict application of punishment to the offence, legislative reforms and societal orientation