Introduction
When a marriage hits the rocks, divorce is one of the options parties involved considers. But how do you go about a divorce in Nigeria? Is as simple as signing divorce papers?
Often in in everyday discourse offline and on social media, I hear Nigerians talk about signing divorce papers as a mode of ending a marriage in Nigeria. I am sometimes amused or irritated by this depending on my mood and the context of the discourse.
For about 2 years now, a popular actor has been in the news for taking another wife and the first wife allegedly started divorce proceedings against him. It is common to see bloggers and social media commenters- allege that he has refused to sign divorce papers the wife served him. Nothing can be farther from the truth.
There is nothing like signing of divorce papers in the Nigerian legal system. No thanks to Nollywood, “signing of divorce papers” has become ingrained in people’s minds as the right way to get divorced in Nigeria. Click here to read our complete guide to divorce in Nigeria
Contents
Court decreed divorce
when seeking for a divorce in Nigeria, especially if you are married under the Act (read more about this here), the first thing you should do is to consult a lawyer, who will listen to your story and help you file a petition for the dissolution of marriage in a High court. Click here to consult one of our divorce lawyers if you want a divorce.
After your petition has been filed and heard, the court will determine if your petition for divorce for will be granted or denied. If the court determines that your petition has succeeded- that is, you have proved that your marriage has broken down and should be dissolved, the court will make a decree dissolving your marriage. This decree is called, Decree Nisi.
Decree Nisi effectively ends a marriage, but the divorce does not become final until the court makes a Decree Absolute and the parties are not at liberty to remarry yet. The reason for this, is that within the intervening period between the 2 decrees, the couple still have the rights to decide to mend fences either on their own or through the intervention of third parties. If this happens, the court will rescind the Decree Nisi.
Also, if there are children in the marriage, the court uses the intervening period between Decree Nisi and Decree Absolute to satisfy that adequate arrangements have been made for the welfare, advancement and proper education of the children of the marriage who are still minors are who are though not minors, but have special circumstances that require them to be catered for. Once the court is satisfied with these arrangements, it will make a decree Absolute, which finalises the divorce.
Note that Decree Nisi is automatically followed by Decree Absolute at the expiration of 3 months. However, where there are children in the marriage, if the court is satisfied that adequate arrangements have been made for their welfare, it can even make the decree absolute before the expiration of the 3 months.
Once the decree of dissolution of marriage has become absolute, any of the parties can apply to the court registry to get a certificate as proof of the divorce.
Conclusion
Finally, for couples who had statutory marriages in Nigeria, the right way to get divorced is through the courts and this process culminates in the court dissolving the marriage by making a Decree Absolute and not through signed divorce papers as being portrayed by Nollywood. Thus, whether a contested divorce or an uncontested divorce, only a court can dissolve a marriage and decree the parties divorced and free.
Click here to get a lawyer and be guided properly
We don’t just write to teach you Nigerian law in a simple way, we are your best family law lawyers in Nigeria. Feel free to reach our firm on, 08030881289.
Settlement of Property After Divorce in Nigeria
