👉 Relocate to Canada Today!

Live, Study and Work in Canada. No Payment is Required! Hurry Now click here to Apply >> Immigrate to Canada

Legal Aids

Punishment For Bigamy Under Nigerian Law

Punishment for Bigamy under Nigerian Law – Bigamy: Offence, Definition, Menace, Consequences, Punishment.

At the cradle of creation, when the man became aware of the woman and both became aware of their power to give life to others like them  through the primal power of   procreation, marriage propped into the human conversation as  a  crucial cavalcade of  companionship , dignity, posterity  and most importantly, life.


👉 Relocate to Canada Today!

Live, Study and Work in Canada. No Payment is Required! Hurry Now click here to Apply >> Immigrate to Canada

It became an imperative inquiry into whether   a man could live with a woman, and in the process give    life and the art of living to others like them in the long and often   arduous   itinerary of life.

Read Also: Punishment For Currency Offences In Nigeria

Punishment For Bigamy Under Nigerian Law
Bigamy Under Nigerian Law – Photo Source: https://www.stelladimokokorkus.com

The law was always going to recognize and protect by some measures, both stringent and   tender, the   relationship of marriage, which,arguably, at its basic level, is  the most critical of all human  relationships.

The law, in its usually flexible foresight, saw that if marriage was left unprotected, and the society unchecked, the many vagaries of life   would encroach into   the field of marriage and render its contours distorted. This was never going to happen, and when it happened, it was never going to go unpunished.

The Law Guarantees Marriage

In Nigeria, through the agency of two principal provisions  which would be  the Marriage Act and the Matrimonial Causes Act,the law guarantees, protects and regulates marriage under the law.

The Marriage Act is “An Act to make provisions for the celebration of marriages.”It provides for how marriages must be delivered to receive validity under the law. It contains in its 54 sections the impediments that automatically render a marriage null, void and of no effect.

The Matrimonial Causes Act is “An Act to make provisions for matrimonial causes.” It contains in its 115 provisions what the law brands “matrimonial reliefs” and   the  vast provisions for the dissolution of marriage.

But what would happen if in the presence of a valid marriage, one of the parties proceed   to contract another marriage?

👉 Relocate to Canada Today!

Live, Study and Work in Canada. No Payment is Required! Hurry Now click here to Apply >> Immigrate to Canada

The law answers this question resoundingly.

Read Also: Punishment For Driving Without A License In Nigeria

Bigamy Defined

The 7th Edition of the Oxford Advanced Learner `s Dictionary, International Student`s Edition, at page 132, defines “Bigamy” thus:

“The    crime of  marrying   somebody when   you are still legally married to somebody else.”

The Deluxe Ninth Edition of the Black`s Law Dictionary, at page 184   says of   “Bigamy”:

The act of marrying one person while   legally married to another. Bigamy is distinct from adultery. It is a criminal offence if it is committed knowingly. ”

The New International Webster`s Comprehensive Dictionary of the English Language (Deluxe Encyclopedic Edition) at page 136 defines “Bigamy” thus:

 The criminal offense  of marrying  any other person while having  a legal spouse living”

Wikepedia describes Bigamy thus:

“In   cultures that practice marital monogamy, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another .

Bigamy is a crime in most Western countries and when it occurs in this context, neither the first nor the second spouse is aware of the other.”

In societies that recognize monogamy, bigamy is a crime. It is a crime for an   obvious reason: to protect the relationship of marriage.

It invariably means that in a society that condones polygamy for religious or cultural reasons, bigamy is   not an issue.

However, it is important to keep in mind that most societies, recognizant of the importance of marital relationships, protect marriage by written or unwritten laws.

The Criminal  Code Act proscribes bigamy.

Nigeria`s grandest criminal legislation, the Criminal Code Act in Chapter 32, which contains three sections, recognizes “Offences relating to marriage and parental rights and duties.

Section 370 of the Criminal Code Act   provides thus:

“Any person who, having a husband or wife living, marries in any case in which such marriage is void by reason of its taking place   during the life of such husband or wife, is guilty of a felony and   is liable to imprisonment for seven years.

This section of the Code does  not extend to any person  whose marriage  with such  husband or wife has been dissolved or declared void by a court  of competent jurisdiction, nor to any  person who contracts  a marriage during the life of a former husband or wife, if such husband or wife, at the time of  the subsequent marriage ,shall have been absent from such person for the space of seven years, and shall not have been heard of  by such a person as being alive within that time.”

Read Also: Punishment For Offences Of Ordeal, Witchcraft, Juju, Criminal Charms In Nigeria

The Criminal Code Act brands bigamy a felony and   punishes it with seven years.  A felony is a serious crime usually punishable with imprisonment for more than a year.

On its part, the Penal Code Act, which is northern Nigeria`s criminal legislation, in Chapter XXII recognizes offences relating to marriage and incest. In sections 383,384,385 and 386, it criminalizes offences relating to marriage and punishes them.

Section 384 of the Penal Code Act which is on “Marrying again during   life-time of husband or wife” provides   thus:

“1. Whoever  having a husband or wife  living marries in a case in which that marriage is void  by reason of its taking place  during the life of  that husband or wife, shall be punished   with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to a fine.

“2. This section shall not extend –

a. To a person whose marriage with the husband or wife has been legally dissolved ; nor

b. To a person who contracts a marriage during  the  life  of a former  husband or wife, if the husband  or wife at the time of the subsequent  marriage shall have been  continually absent  from the person  for a space of seven years and shall not have been heard of  by the person  as being alive within that time, provided  the person contracting the subsequent marriage  shall, before  that marriage  takes place, inform  the person  with whom the marriage is contracted  of the real state of facts  so far as the same are within his or her knowledge.”

Section 385 of the Penal Code Act which is on “Re-marriage with concealment of former marriage” provides thus:

“Whoever  commits the offence defined in  section 384  of this Penal Code having  concealed from the  person with  whom the subsequent  marriage is contracted the fact  of the former marriage, shall be  punished with imprisonment  for a term which  may extend to ten years and shall be liable to fine.”

Section 386 of the Penal Code Act   which  is on “Marriage  ceremony  fraudulently gone through  without lawful marriage” provides thus:

“ Whoever dishonestly  or with a fraudulent  intention goes through  the ceremony  of being married knowing  that he is not thereby lawfully married  shall be punished with  imprisonment for a term  which may extend to seven years  and shall also be liable to fine.”

Read Also: Punishment For Corruption Under Nigerian Law

The Penal Code Act also stipulates a 10-year jail term  for Bigamy.

The Criminal Code Act, the Penal Code Act,the Marriage Act and the Matrimonial Causes Act work hand in hand to protect marriage and punish offenses against marriage.

This  legal synergy aimed at the preservation of the institution of marriage is most critical to the sanity and survival of any serious society.

Bigamy cannot arise in the absence of a marriage recognized as valid under the Marriage Act. Bigamy cannot also arise where a court, acting under the provisions of the Matrimonial Causes Act had proceeded to dissolve a previous marriage.

However, where  a marriage complied with the Marriage Act and has not been imperiled under the provisions of  the Matrimonial Causes Act, the felony of bigamy would loom over any subsequent marriage involving over any of the parties to such a marriage.

To underscore its protection of marriage, Section 39 of the Marriage Act provides that “Whoever, being unmarried  ,goes through the ceremony of marriage under this Act with a person  whom he or she knows to be married to another person, shall be liable to imprisonment for five years.”

The Prosecution of Bigamy in Nigeria

In a traditional and multi-religious society like Nigeria, Bigamy is not often recognized and punished for being a juddering violation of the institution of marriage.

Thus , instances of bigamy  rarely find ventilation in courts. However, it is important to always keep in mind that family life is best guaranteed by the institution of marriage and marriage must be protected at all times from the forces which would otherwise rip it of its very soul.

Highlights

a. Marriage is essentially between one man and one woman.

b. Marriage is the firmest anchor of family life.

c. The law recognizes and punished bigamy as it is one of the gravest assailants of family life

d. Bigamy is a felony punishable with a maximum seven years imprisonment.

e. Bigamy is nigh impossible in the absence of a valid marriage.

Read Also: Armed Robbery Under Nigeria Criminal Law: Definition, Menace, Consequences, Punishment

 Remember:                

a. That as a Nigerian citizen under Sections 25,26 or 27 of the 1999 Constitution, your fundamental rights are guaranteed under Sections 33 to 46 of the same Constitution.

b. That the Constitution guarantees you equal rights, obligations, opportunities   and easy accessibility to court under Section 17.

c. That com   works with a team of lawyers to inform  you  of your rights, obligations and opportunities under the law.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

📢 We are hiring writers!

Article Writing Jobs - We are hiring good freelance writers - Click here to apply

Copyright Warning!

Contents on this website may not be republished, reproduced, or redistributed either in whole or in part without due permission or acknowledgment. . Proper acknowledgment includes, but not limited to (a) LINK BACK TO THE ARTICLE in the case of re-publication on online media, (b) Proper referencing in the case of usage in research, magazine, brochure, or academic purposes,. . All contents are protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act 1996 (DMCA). . . The images, except where otherwise indicated, are taken directly from the web, if some images were inserted by mistake violating the copyright, please contact the administrator for immediate removal.
. We publish all content with good intentions. If you own this content & believe your copyright was violated or infringed, please contact us  for immediate removal.

Kenechukwu Obiezu

Kenechukwu Obiezu is a Legal Practitioner and a Content Developer at InfoGuideNIgeria.com. InfoGuide Nigeria is a team of Resource Persons and Consultants led by Ifiokobong Ibanga. Page maintained by Ifiokobong Ibanga. If you need a personal assistance on this topic, kindly contact us.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button

It looks like you're using an ad blocker!

This website InfoGuideNigeria.com is maintained by the advertising revenue and we noticed you have ad-blocking enabled. Please disable Ad-Blocker