Friday 16 January 2015

DESERTION IN MARRIAGE UNDER THE LAW



An Igando customary court sitting in Lagos State on Wednesday dissolved a 10 years old marriage between Mrs Caro Waheed and her husband Suleiman Waheed over abandonment.

Mrs Caro , the petitioner a trader had filed a suit for dissolution of her 10 years marriage over abandonment, she said her husband abandoned her and her three children for four years , she has been the only one responsible for rent and upkeep of her three children.

The respondent confirmed that he packed out of the house four years ago over infidelity and that he is not against the dissolution of his marriage to Mrs. Caro. The court granted an order for divorce....................CULLED FROM DAILY POST

Men and women of this generation need to know the genesis of marriage under the law and in Holy books before contracting one, in recent time in my capacity as a legal practitioner i have handled situations where husbands/wives abandon their matrimonial homes over frivolous issues , this has been an order of the day thinking it is a good way to discipline the other spouse or superiority.


The position of the law by virtue of the provision of the Matrimonial Causes Act in respect of desertion in marriage Section 15 (2)(d)  where the respondent has deserted the petitioner for a continuous period of one year immediately before the petition.  The court shall grant the application, except where the respondent was able to prove that both parties agreed expressly or impliedly to either live separately for some reasons i.e. where either of them work and live outside the state or country other than where their matrimonial home is. 

The law will not allow anyone to rely on the provision of the law maliciously for selfish reason, the onus is on the respondent to either admit that he is guilty of the allegation or not.

Conclusively, the court will grant dissolution of such marriage where either parties contravene the provision of the law.

Thank you.

 Oyenike Alliyu-Adebiyi LLB(hons)BL

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