Monogamy, Polygamy, Bigamy, and the Law
Nigeria is an
interesting country, blessed with unique ethnic configuration and diversified
legal system where polygamy is legal and bigamy is a crime. Monogamous form of
marriage is a legal one. So, the inference is that under the Nigerian law, both
polygamy and monogamy are legal and recognised. The single explanation is that
the Nigerian law establishes three types of marriage: statutory marriage,
customary marriage, and Islamic marriage.
Once a person contracts
a statutory marriage, such person cannot marry another person again as long as
the marriage with the first person has not been dissolved and that the partner
to the first marriage is still alive because a statutory marriage is monogamous
for life (Hyde v. Hyde (L.R.) 1 P. & D. 130 (1886)). Bigamy is committed,
if anybody does that. Bigamy is an offence that forbids any person who has
contracted a statutory marriage to become a polygamist. Although Lagos State
has removed bigamy from its Criminal Law as an offence, it is still an offence in
all other states in the Southern part of Nigeria. Contrastingly, bigamy has
never been an offence in the Penal Code which applies in the Northern part of
Nigeria. For further reading on bigamy, I recommend Decriminalisation
of Bigamy in Lagos State and Its Legal Implications.
In Nigeria, any man who
wants to be a polygamist, especially in the South, is at liberty to do so as
long as that person does not contract a statutory marriage. One can get married
in a traditional or Islamic way, both of which permit a man to marry many
wives. For an elaborate discussion of the Nigerian marriage system, you may
download my book, What
the Law Says About Marriage and Divorce.
But it is funny to note
that in spite of the fact that bigamy is an offence in some parts of Nigeria,
many men, who are violators of this law, are still walking free and proud of
their illegal deeds because of the societal attitude to polygamy. Many
Nigerians believe that a man can marry as many wives as he wants or can afford
but they fail to appreciate that once a person embraces the Western-imported
marriage choice of having a statutory marriage, he loses his right to be a
polygamist.
The law of bigamy in
Nigeria is more honoured in breach than in observance.
Related blog posts –
Post a Comment