Nigerian law doesn’t support 50-50 property split in divorce – Activist Lawyer

Activist lawyer Madubuachi Idam stated on Thursday that Nigerian laws do not support the notion of a woman receiving 50 percent of her husband’s properties during a divorce.

He cautioned women against entering court marriages with the expectation of automatically sharing their husband’s assets upon divorce, as this concept is not recognized by Nigerian law.

In an interview with News Men, Idam emphasized that any spouse seeking a share of the property must provide evidence of their contribution toward its acquisition.

According to Idam: “The law that awards 50% or any percentage of a man’s property to his wife during divorce is strange to the Nigerian soil.

“Women who push their man to have them married statutorily (court marriage) with an intention to share in their property during divorce should be informed that such law is alien to Nigeria.

“Statutory marriage (court marriage), does not aid a Nigerian woman to reap where she did not or has not sown, if it were so, divorce would have been the most lucrative thing after oil business for some GenZ’s who are not willing to be married but desperate to escape poverty.”

He, however, noted that in the event of death, the spouse is entitled to properties of the deceased.

Idam added: “Except in the event of death where a surviving spouse is entitled to the properties of his or her deceased spouse acquired during the pendency of their ‘Statutory or Court Marriage’. Similar right is not available to the spouse during divorce.

“To be entitled to any portion of your spouse’s property during divorce, you must prove your contribution to the acquisition of such property in a concrete and substantial manner.

“Laws are territorial, what is obtainable in the UK is not automatically applicable in Nigeria except it’s legislated as a law in Nigeria.

“If one of your reasons for pushing your spouse to have you married statutorily is to enable you enjoy a certain percent of his wealth when you or he seeks divorce, you may need to rethink.”