I am married but I still have girlfriends. Is it an offence to engage in extra-marital affairs?
1
Such
act is called adultery. Even though adultery is not an offence under the
Marriage Act and the Criminal Code which applies in the Southern part of Nigeria,
it is an offence in the North[1].
It is, however, an acceptable reason to file for divorce. A spouse who is
aggrieved by the adultery or infidelity of the other spouse may file for
divorce. For a court to grant dissolution of marriage on the basis of adultery,
there must be convincing evidence which shows that truly adultery is committed
by the other spouse, and that the spouse suing (i.e. the petitioner) finds it
intolerable to live with the “adulterous” spouse.
Whenever a divorce petition
is presented on the basis of adultery, it is important to join a third party
with whom a spouse commits adultery in that divorce case[2].
By joining the third party, the petitioner will be able to claim damages
against the person and it will also afford the third party to state his or her
own side of the story. The third party may, however, escape being ordered to
pay damages, if the court is convinced that circumstances exist which may make
the third party believe that the respondent is not married or if the respondent
has created an impression of being unmarried. Mere suspicion that adultery is
committed without any concrete evidence is not enough.
What concerns the evidence, yes, without the proofs you won't be able to punish the opponent but there are special spying apps like mspylite which give the opportunity to spy on your partner without even him knowing it.