By Davidson Iriekpen and Jaiyeola Andrews

You want to marry two or more wives? You can relocate to Lagos State to fulfil your heart’s desire as bigamy is no longer a criminal offence there. There is no chance that you would be jailed again.

THISDAY can report today that the state House of Assembly has silently amended the Lagos State Criminal Code and expunged bigamy from its statutes.

When next the clerk tells you at the Marriage Registry that you risk seven years in jail if you get married to someone else, you can smile and tell her she’s behind the news.

The old Criminal Code of Lagos State Cap C17, section 370 stated: “Any person who having a husband or a wife leaving, 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 does not extend to any person whose marriage with such husband or wife has been dissolved or declared void by court of competent jurisdiction, nor to any person who contracts a marriage during the life of a former husband of 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.”

The state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeola Ipaye, confirmed the development, saying the old law was no longer useful.

Ipaye said it became necessary to remove bigamy because the state government found out that there was no need to criminalise the offence.

He nevertheless said bigamy would now be treated as a civil offence and such a marriage would simply be dissolved without any criminal proceedings being instituted against the offender.

Ipaye did not however say under what law such marriage would be dissolved since bigamy, technically, no longer exists and there is no prescription for remedy.

“Yes, bigamy was expunged from the amended criminal code. It was necessitated by the need to decriminalise it. What this means is that it is no longer a criminal offence when a man or woman who is legally married to contract another marriage. Instead, the marriage remains null and void,” he said.

But speaking to THISDAY last night, a legal practitioner and Chairperson, Women Empowerment & Legal Aid, Mrs Funmi Falana, said the organisation was already in court to challenge the decriminalisation of bigamy.

“In any case, bigamy is still in the federal law. So if Lagos fails to prosecute you, the Federal Government can take it up,” she told THISDAY on phone.

Prof. Konyinsola Ajayi (SAN) said it became necessary for the state to remove bigamy from the criminal code because in the last 40 years, nobody had been charged with the offence.

He said what the lawmakers simply did by removing the act from the law books is to decriminalise the act.

Human rights lawyer Ebun Adegboruwa said if it was true that the state House of Assembly had expunged bigamy from the state criminal code, it was long overdue.

Adegboruwa noted that for over 10 years now, there had been pressure on the state government to expunge the act because it was not enforceable because of the peculiar nature of the Nigerian society.

Bigamy was introduced into the Nigerian law books by the British during the colonisation of the country and Nigeria is not ripe to fully practise the act, he said.

Adegboruwa said: “These days, because of the cost implication of prosecuting divorce and the time it takes, couples prefer to quietly go their separate ways and remarry and this weakened the law and made it ineffective and unenforceable.”

Also, Dr. Joseph Nwobike (SAN) commended the state lawmakers for expunging the act from the state criminal code, saying that since 1914 when the law came into force, it had not recorded any conviction.

He argued that since the law is inconsistent with the country’s values, the best thing to do is to discard it.

Nwobike said though the act is no longer a crime, it is an offence under the Marriage Act which is one of the laws of the federation, but wondered where the offender would be the prosecuted.

Though some Lagos lawmakers chose not to comment on the issue, but a member of the House representing Eti Osa 1 constituency, Hon. Yishawu Gholahan, told THISDAY that “bigamy, to be frank with you, is a way of life among Muslims. There is nothing government can do about it. We should just let it be.”

Nevertheless, bigamy only applied to those who married under the Marriage Act. Those who choose to marry under customary and religious laws are excluded from prosecution.


http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/in-lagos-bigamy-is-no-longer-a-crime/105094/

Love this,at least it is part of human right to marry as many as one desires!!!

When was anyone ever stopped in Nigeria from marrying whoever or however many spouses they want?  That law was just on the books joo.  If you don't take more than one spouse to the registrar, no one would poke nose. 

The article did state that bigamy remains a "civil offense."  It's not clear from that whether that means it is simply a tort between the parties, or it is still an offense, but simply a misdemeanor.

Bottomline: You can't go to jail for it and it is not a felonious offense.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/in-lagos-bigamy-is-no-longer-a-crime/105094/

The state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeola Ipaye, confirmed the development, saying the old law was no longer useful.

Ipaye said it became necessary to remove bigamy because the state government found out that there was no need to criminalise the offence.

He nevertheless said bigamy would now be treated as a civil offence and such a marriage would simply be dissolved without any criminal proceedings being instituted against the offender.

Ipaye did not however say under what law such marriage would be dissolved since bigamy, technically, no longer exists and there is no prescription for remedy.

The reporter could have done a better job asking questions.  Or is the state still working on the final details?

Lagos, always ahead.

How the hell could getting married to two or more wives be a criminal offence in the first place?

That is solely oyinbo law,nor bi for africans. It time we review our conventional legal system,sift the weed from the harvest and stop following oyinbo laws blindly like every other thing.

isale_gan2:
The article did state that bigamy remains a "civil offense." It's not clear from that whether that means it is simply a tort between the parties, or it is still an offense, but simply a misdemeanor.

Bottomline: You can't go to jail for it and it is not a felonious offense.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/in-lagos-bigamy-is-no-longer-a-crime/105094/
The reporter could have done a better job asking questions. Or is the state still working on the final details?

It means that if someone marries more than ) wife the state wife, the state is no longer obligated to prosecute his as a criminal. However, the first wife still has the right to sue the husband and claim damages. This is more important when the marriage was was contracted on the basis that it would be monogamous as most church weddings are. If the man then changes his mind and marries another wife against the first wife's wishes, she can sue.

more like taking adultery to another level

A good law should align with the nature of people. There was no need to criminalize such a thing in the first place.

The females on nairaland need to air their opinion o! Now u can settle in lagos and marry more than one husband o!

Ozin:

The females on nairaland need to air their opinion o! Now u can settle in lagos and marry more than one husband o!

Moderator, pls move this to the romance section, am sure the ladies out there ould give u their mind on this! Thia na Politics arena,

feelamong:

Moderator, pls move this to the romance section, am sure the ladies out there ould give u their mind on this! Thia na Politics arena,

The romance aspect of the article is just 10%,it has 90% of element of politics in it from the House assembly changing the laws on Bigamy and making it part of our Human right to marry as many wives/Husbands as we like.It also has the international politics of the western powers of defending human right inbuilt in the article.So this is the best section to discuss it

Was it a crime before?
How many have gone to jail for it?
Many NL had 3-4 pregnant co-wives in the wedding parties. . .AT THE ALTARS/SHRINES, AT THE SAME TIME!!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8292312.stm





[img]http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46503000/jpg/_46503139_traditionalwedding2(2).jpg[/img]

[size=20pt]THIS IS AFRRRRRRRRRRIKKKKKKA!!!! [/size]

Probably due to the fact that a huge number of nigerian men are conducting multiple weddings these days.

Next on the agenda is decriminalizing g.ay marriage i'm sure.

tpia@:

Probably due to the fact that a huge number of nigerian men are conducting multiple weddings these days.

Next on the agenda is decriminalizing g.ay marriage[b] i'm sure[/b].

You can't be sure of an event that is yet to happen except may be it's one of the natural laws.  It can only be likely.

The west is pressurising nigeria to legalize g.ay marriage.

Despite all the grandstanding, its far more likely nigeria will eventually capitulate and promote g.ay causes because the threat of withholding aid is a serious one.

Given the fact that the issue goes against nigerian culture and tradition, the easiest way to introduce it would be by making little "innocuous" changes to already existing, supposedly latent, laws in order not to raise alarm. Then eventually, by the time the actual law is put into place, it will be too late for anything to be done about it, assuming it even reaches public consciousness.

British law into African's blood stream, ODIESHI.
Congratulations to 2face!

Akanbi_edu:

Lagos, always ahead.

How the hell could getting married to two or more wives be a criminal offence in the first place?

Yes lagos is always there b4 others.

Nigerian women should just know that Men are born-polygamous most especially Africans.

Bigamy is a threat to modern law and civil order. In fact, that's one of the main reasons it wasn't implemented in the first place. First of all, with polygamy, diseases spread at a much faster rate. Second of all, strife usually results due to inheritance issues. Thirdly, how will a man with two wives be able to sign forms, take loans, and do other things when most institutions only recognize a family as: a man, his wife, and their children?

Then again, the issue of support for all of those children arises. If the man is well off, fine. If not, then how does he plan on training, feeding, clothing and educating all of the children he will beget? And also if a man is allowed to have two wives, why can't a woman have two husbands? In my opinion, Polygamy is one of the reasons why poverty is so high in certain places. It shouldn't be instituted in any state.

Polygamy was a thing for our ancestors. Back then, a man needed to have multiple wives in order to increase his chances of having a surviving child. Today, theres no use.

I wouldn't do it personally as I feel it's kind of selfish but it's not really my business what people choose to do with their love lives. Thing is though if it's legal for men to marry multiple women it should work the other way around.

Back then, a man needed to have multiple wives in order to increase his chances of having a surviving child

. . . . . .and to farm his many farmlands and to contribute to the king's army of warriors.
Do we still have these things?

Technically, bigamy is trying to have more than one legally recognised wife i.e. marrying multiple times through the registry process.

Many men in Nigeria accumulate their wives by just marrying the first one legally and then marrying the others traditionally. Technically, that method is not illegal, so the law was pretty usefless in the first place.

There are many other issues that women face in marriage that these law makers and law enforces need to concentrate on.

For example, men can kick their wives out without alimony or child support, and the slow and painful justice process means they can get away with it. These are some of the real issues women face that need to be addressed.

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Bigamy is meant to favour people like TU FACE based in Lagos. Goodluck to Lagos state. Expect more animals like TU FACE in Lagos State.

One step forward and 100 backwards. Shame on Lagos. You want to force a man who gets a girl pregnant to marry her but at the same still encouraging men to be irresponsible and not settling down and taking care of their families. How does this law put family first in anyway. I will see how a state that is considering implementing child support successfully do this with a man and his 22 children on his N20,000 a month salary. Foolishness in the highest order. Nigeria should learn to focus on the things that can actually improve thier lives.

Abuse:

Bigamy is meant to favour people like TU FACE based in Lagos. Goodluck to Lagos state. Expect more[b] animals like TU FACE[/b] in Lagos State.

actually, the economy will usually determine, the number of wives and children a reasonable man can cater for. " a man struggling for his day to day meals hardly considers getting married to one wife talkless of marrying two, similarly a brokeass woman wudnt want to b d second wife to a brokeass man.

i am so sure some men will be happy about this as evidenced here on Nl,what a shame

like someone said earlier,polygamy is one of the causes of poverty in africa

I think Nigeria should adopt this and tie it to our foreign policy,
any country that denied people the right to association and marriage should not buy our crude oil

It was never a crime in nigeria before, so why the . . . . . . . Mtcheeeeeew [B]OSI RATA MARAYO[/B]

@OP

There is a clear difference between BIGAMY and POLYGAMY. I guess NLs are thinking both are one and the same thing. Please refer to your dictionaries again.