approximately 70% of Nigerians are in potentially null and void marriages. Others intending to marry should therefore take heed of these mistakes or crime of Bigamy.

“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"

 I get divorce cases and women seeking advices here and there about the validity of their marriage and I have seen how they have fallen victims of bigamy without even knowing it. For some the hope is only a prayer that can sustain them. That Is why I am writing this to all men and women out there to learn a thing or two from this.

 Are you a man or woman who has contracted marriage under the Act That is, statutory/ Church Marriage? Customary and Islamic Marriage which are the three recognized marriage in Nigeria, then this is for you if you are thinking of remarriage.   I also see people having a church blessing in church and they feel they have contracted a marriage under the Act, am sorry but that is not a recognized form of marriage.


Thus, where Roman Catholics contract a civil or customary-law marriage, they may have it blessed by a Catholic priest. Such 'church blessing' does not constitute a marriage, nor does it add anything to an existing civil marriage. In Martins v Adenugba1 a priest blessed a customary law marriage on 17 September 1942. He issued, in a printed form, a certificate to the parties in respect of that ceremony. It was later contended that there was a valid marriage under the Marriage Act. The court held that the ceremony of the 17th September was merely the blessing of a customry law marriage, and therefore did not constitute a marriage.



Women, going to the registry to get married to a man who has a subsisitng marriage with another woman will not cure you of your woes. It will be erroneous for you to assume that you have become a legal wife by doing so. Going to the registry with such man only makes him:

A. Guilty of Bi-gamy
B. Rendering your marriage void form the beginning. You only need a court declaration to that effect. Pray your husband's will is uncontested by the family members, pray the legality of your marriage is not questioned, pray that the man does not use this knowledge to wreck havoc in the near future. You just have to keep praying.



Nigerian women, read the marriage Act, you could seek advice on the marriage you going into or just buy the Act, read it carefully before you get handcuffed to your lifetime prison mate, choose your prison mate carefully, know exactly where you stand, do not permit certain things to happen to you. If you must marry a married man(married or separated) ensure you do so in accordance with your customs and traditions even if you will duplicate the process in the registry and hope no one ever challenges the validity of your court wedding.

 However, the crime of bigamy 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 person as being alive within that time”.

So lucky you, if you where one of those chick's who contracted a statutory marriage to sponsor your man abroad with the hope that he will never leave you, or come back for you, or take you back to be with him, yet for over 7 years, you have nether heard nor received any form of communication from him since then and even the family of the man do not even care that you exist, If I where in your shoes, I will go ahead and marry believing he was dead. pleasedontquoteme#.

 However to avoid the above,  if you have no ish being in a polygamous marriage, simply marry a married man whom you know had not married his living or present wife under the Act. If you wish to be smarter you can go ahead and insist on a statutory marriage to make you his legal wife,  but that does not also mean his previous marriages are invalid or void. Don't also think you have more superior rights too. Consider it a privilege.

For some women who quickly rush to have a court registration of marriage,  believing it will secure your man, and make him come back to you, especially if he is traveling abroad, hmmmmmmmn be careful, if he finally abandons you in Europe or anywhere, you are on your own. You cannot contract a valid marriage again with another person in Nigeria or anywhere else unless you obtain a divorce certificate. #whichcanbeprettyexpensive# yes divorce cases are pretty expensive. And time consuming.



This is how much i can take and please feel free to leave your questions below, don't forget to click on anonymous if you do not wish people to identify you with your comments...

until next time.