Question of the day; do pre-nups work in Nigeria? | Welcome to Linda Ikeji's Blog

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Wednesday 20 November 2013

Question of the day; do pre-nups work in Nigeria?

This is probably a question for lawyers but I'd also like to know what you guys think. Do prenuptial agreement..(a written contract between two people who are about to marry, setting out the terms of possession of assets, treatment of future earnings, control of the property of each, & potential division if the marriage is later dissolved)..work in Nigeria? I heard some people discussing it and I wondered

103 comments:

Anonymous said...

never heard of pre-nups in NIgeria and i can say this authoritatively as a lawyer. I guess the marrying couples are too scared to admit that marriage could leave to worse and focus primarily on the better. and pre-nuos are pure preparations for worse which people don't want to hear about.

Anonymous said...

Linda is that part of your plans. What are you scared of

Anonymous said...

Why do u like asking silly questions like you not a Nigerian!

Anonymous said...

Not a chance

BONARIO NNAGS said...

Yep it does,but very rare.

~BONARIO~says so via NOKIA3310

Anonymous said...

For where it can't happen

Mischievous said...

Linda, you dey fear for your assets?. Hehehehehe.

Anonymous said...

Pre-nup ko, nup-Pre ni..abeg mk we hear word,if marriage go work e go work b dat

GSB said...

A daily morning devotional blog for YOU

Rough Diamond said...

It's rare here in nigeria

Anonymous said...

In my own opinion it doesn't work. Although a small percentage of the elite class. Its not part of our culture to declare our properties before marriage.

Anonymous said...

No it don't linda

Anonymous said...

Linda, is it for you? Are you getting ready to marry and you want to secure your wealth? I don't think they work. Some people leave wills and they aren't carried out to the letter. The same will obtain here.

Unknown said...

Doubt it. But thngz r changing so. Maybe

Anonymous said...

Work fire! With all the traditions we have in Nigeria? Na so! Would like to seem erm try.

Unknown said...

Linda, did you say prenup? It's foreign and in all sincerity I haven't seen or heard anyone in this country with such ideas. It's unfathomable to see a wife taking over the property of her husband or vice versa when the extended family members are still very much alive. If care is not taken, the extended family will add the wife as one of the assets to be taken over. Pleaseee

Unknown said...

If I hear!

Unknown said...

It will work

Anonymous said...

Nope it doesnt.

Anonymous said...

Linda is this about You? It seems you have finally found who want to get married and a rich ass babe like you needs a pre nup in country where many might feign love with just because of that your fat GT account ... Hmmm last u went on a love trip to UAE and now U talking pre nup .. Yeah pres nups when executed by a competent Nigerian High court would see U safe in the event of bad marraige

Eyeshadow said...

It does not work in Nigeria..Most especially yoruba's all they do is to send their wives away without anything in her name

Anonymous said...

well it would work if it actually exists. its a contract and contracts are binding in Nigeria once signed by both parties.

esther said...

Nigerians don't even do business with law talk less of marriage and if prenups exist when a partner is fed up with the marriage they will go the traditional way and eliminate the other to be free so there are thing that shouldn't be introduced to nigeria

Anonymous said...

It doesn't work here!! Oh boy,u don dey fine trouble oo.

Lord Denning said...

Its not in our matrimonial causes act neither is it recognize under both sharia & customary law.

Pre-nups would be an unenforcable contract in Nigeria as marriage is considered a social contract.

Anonymous said...

Wat is ur problem eyeshadow abi na mascara or moju.dey askd if it works must u b tribalistic fool! Must u.am sure ur father sent ur useles mother away dats y u wana die here! simple question d oloshi is saying rubish

Anonymous said...

Anon 11.41..u r mad for saying yoruba...wharay..oloshi..tribalistic goat..

Anonymous said...

Hausa n igbo nko? Idiot

Unknown said...

This is not God's plan for marriage "marriage" is not a contract nor a paper agreement _____ this is totally destroying the "concert" •••POTTER•••

Anonymous said...

Globacom is fucked, dt all I can think of

Anonymous said...

Dick head, wat does the yoruba as to do with these? I no u are one of those fucking igbos, SOB to d fullest!!!

Adele said...

A pre-nup is simply a contractual agreement, so by that definition, it can work in Nigeria if both parties agree to the terms. That's the essence of a pre-nup - both parties agreeing to the terms. However, I doubt it is used as often here in Nigeria - our culture and religious values do not generally agree with the idea behind pre-nups. The man is supposed to provide for the family and marriages aren't supposed to end in divorce. You do not want to "jinx" the marriage by preparing for it to fail which is what the pre-nup would represent. Also, the pre-nup presupposes that the woman has significant bargaining power even before going into the marriage and the African tradition still tends to think of the woman as subservient to the man. But with more and more people marrying after they have become significantly successful, I wonder if pre-nups will not soon become the norm. Come to think of it - does Dangote, Africa's richest man have a pre-nup? Somehow I don't think so.

Anonymous said...

no no it can not work here in Nigeria

Anonymous said...

It doesn't. I don't think it can based on our culture

Livvsreamblog said...

First time of hearing this,therefore it doesn't work in Nigerian

Unknown said...

it doesnt work bcos we r nt everywher i tink it shuld be active in some places around nigeria xpecialy mayb frm rich parents dat dier daughters want to mary a poor man out of been protective

Anonymous said...

Linda i dey suspect u. Hope that's not what u are planning to do.

Anonymous said...

Don't think it praticed

Anonymous said...

Eyeshadow y must u b tribalistic? Just answer d question and get d hell out.

Anonymous said...

@ eyeshadow, na craze b ur name, wat of yeegboo! Abeg no bit me oo!

Anonymous said...

I'm sure to an extent it does……Heard of a divorce case in Abuja that had a prenup…..

Mzz Blaq said...

It certainly doesn't work in Nigeria

Unknown said...

Never heard of such in nigeria tho

Anonymous said...

This is great. But presently not in our culture.

Unknown said...

Never heard of that in nigeria tho

Janelicious said...

It does not exist in nigeria.

Anonymous said...

Nigeria with Pre-Nup... E no go work... I am strongly against it.

APPLELIPX said...

FOR WHERE!!!

WOMEN DNT EvEN KNW HOW TO TAKE THEIR MEN TO CoURT WHEN DEVORCE SETS IN

TRUTH IS; A TYPICAL AFRICAN WOMAN DOESN'T MARRY FOR THE MATERIAL BENEFITS

NA DIS NEW GENERATION FIT START PRE-NUPS IF D WOMAN IN QUESTION IS ALSO WEALTHY

Anonymous said...

how can pre nup work in nigeria? when the man takes everything when he divorces his wife or even in the event of death, while if the man dies his family claims everything. unless if the widow is lucky to have God fearing in laws

Chimaroke said...

Of course it does work. Pre-nups are like any other agreement entered into by consenting parties. As long as terms of the agreement do not contravene any subsisting law parties can take their Pre-nup agreement to court and it will be enforced. However, Prenups are not common practice in this part of the hemisphere because of traditional, religious and ethnic misconceptions of the superiority or otherwise of the sexes.

Anonymous said...

we are not there yet, and moreover in nigeria we have only few divorce cases. Unlike white who marry with a certain degree of divorce expectancy, Maybe wen it becomes predominant in our society, then would we start to consider it more

Anonymous said...

Marriage itself is a consensus adidem (agreement or union of mind) btw a man n woman. Its more or less or contract so coming frm dat angle couples culd draw up a pre nup contract dats in a written form displaying whose contributes wat n takes wat if d union is dissolved. If they av agreed to it d courts hands r tied to refuse especially wen both parties prove dat d agreement b4 d court is aunthentic with their signtures affixed to it. Pre nup as a word is alient to nigerian law bt contracts r nt so it can come under written cotracts spelling out d terms of settlement. Bt dat been said its alien to nig law dat at d verge of being married or before, intending couples will make such agreement as dat will cast doubts in d mind of d court as to true luv especially if d d marriage is proven to b a fraud by d party who seeks d divorce. Let's face it courts dnt easily grant divorce in nig so there's a yawning golf btw d whites n us ova here. There r conditions for annulling a marriage under d marriage act u cnt jst wake up one morning n seek a divorce without it coing under those laws n it must b proven to d satisfaction of d court.

Anonymous said...

we are not there yet, and moreover in nigeria we have only few divorce cases. Unlike white who marry with a certain degree of divorce expectancy, Maybe wen it becomes predominant in our society, then would we start to consider it more
#Francix# my bday is on friday-:)

Anonymous said...

What's dia to agree or disagree in d prenup when most brides have no assests to declare!... Most nigerians rather cohabit or live separately than divorce.
Prenup is not a nigerian thing n it exists for d elite class only.

Swizy

Anonymous said...

Hw do u xpect someone to trust u with their heart n u cnt trust dat person with ur money or property. It cnt work here in naija cos a d very beginning there's no trust n it shows d oda person u r keeping ur heart open for a walk out anytime n dats lack of commitment

TangoTangoAlpha said...

The Nigerian constitution does not recognize "contractual marriages", marriage is still viewed as a religious or cultural union so pre-nups does not work.
In the event of a dissolution of marriage, the man is usually the one that gets everything because both culturally and in all religions practiced in Nigeria the man is the head of the home no matter what. Sometimes, judges use their discretion to assist the wife but in the majority of cases the man gets the kids and everything he owns.
That is why Yasmin Prest the former wife of billionaire oil tycoon Michael Prest filed for divorce in the UK, she was lucky because they did a civil wedding in the UK and she was also born in England so the marriage falls under UK jurisdiction, nevertheless, Michael Prest team of lawyers still used Nigerian customary laws to deny her of £17.5million divorce payout while arguing in UK courts, after years in court (2008-2012) a UK judge finally sided with her.
If the divorce had been in Nigeria then the wife would have been on a jones level, the Nigerian courts will probably give her a 100K naira per year settlement even when the husband is a billionaire oil tycoon, you can now imagine why most Nigerian women will rarely leave their rich husbands even if he beats her in public and sleeps with a new woman every night.

Anonymous said...

Its not applicable in Nigeria

Unknown said...

It can't work with all the tradition(s) in Nigeria....choi! see as they are insulting him because he said the truth.somethings should be left unsaid.running SMH

Anonymous said...

Abiodun Awodipe you sound so ignorant.
It's unfathomable to see a wife taking over the property of her husband or vice versa when the extended family members are still very much alive.
What the fuck?

Anonymous said...

Pls it works in nigeria,its just that we don't want to accept its part of us too.

Apple said...

Never heard of that in Nigeria but i will advice those married to Nigerian men to secretly save for rainy days, why? with the way Nigeria men chase after ladies hmm, women should protect themselves if not one day you wake up and one small girl don take over your home and your investment.

Unknown said...

Nt @ all in nig,Nig kehhhh

jaybeyblu said...

Hahaha! When woman leave man for 9j na only her iron trunk box she go carry dey go her papa house. She has got no claim on anything so no need for pre nup

Anonymous said...

Its Linda thinking about it abeg!!! LOL... I doubt it works sha

Unknown said...

Hatred runs and flows in some peoples' veins, same way blood does.

lalainisblog said...

It is worth having a prenup even tho it is not currently the norm in nigeria. Things are moving and changing very quickly in nigeria's legal landscape and in a few years to a decade its possible anyone who finds themselves in a nasty divorce will be queried as to why he or she did not have a prenup. What seems to work more in naija tho is just leaving your property in your name only even after marriage. If u're so in love that u add his name to your assets, well the person may ve a fight there

Anonymous said...

Its unheard of in nigeria and wldnt work cos no nija man go gree dt one!

wonder said...

@lindaikeji considering our matrimonial causes Act cap 220 and marriage act cap 218,lindiway it doesn't work cos its not included in d laws guiding marriage in nigeria.mostly d interest of the wife is protected by d judge via settlement putting into consideration d worth of d husband.dis is nigeria lindiway where married women still open bank account with der maiden name.

Anonymous said...

For where???

Olufunmi said...

It definitely wont work if introduced and accepted here. people will go into marriage just cos of the benefits only. Greedy ones will kill their partner so they can own everything. That idiot tagging yorubas, am sure they've not slapped you hard b4. EWU!. people like you are the reason why that Femi guy dey talk wetin him talk. he must av heard useless comments like urs to conclude on that.....idiat

Anonymous said...

Must u mention igbo. Yoruba goat. Ur just so intimidated by d word igbo and u feel dat by saying igbo all d time u can be upgraded. Go get a life . Cat!!!

Anonymous said...

U took the words out of ma mouth..nice one..we r nigerians..

Anonymous said...

Oloriburuku oshi!na d questn whey dem ask u b dat?

Unknown said...

Iol..lindo do

Anonymous said...

Must u showcase your foolishness,omo ale jati jati

Anonymous said...

The question u shld be asking is : Is Dangote Married?

Anonymous said...

Wat is even wrong wit u bloggers??? Wetin concern naija wit prenups.... Pls let the white man tradition stays in his land, don't bring it into naija...dats how tiwa savage threw a bachelorrete party last week and u guys are celebrating her instead of condenming dat alien culture she's celebrating....*angry*

Anonymous said...

Dangote has married more than 4 times.

Anonymous said...

it should work

Unknown said...

I don't think so...

Chinwe said...

it wont

Anonymous said...

Mercy Johnson needs a pre-nup. I hope she signed one

Anonymous said...

Lol, upgrade one's life by saying Igbo....wonders shall never end. He was only replying your bastard brother or sister who mentioned Yoruba in a neutral discussion. Such hypocrites why not chastise the bigots from your tribe who start this things up!

Anonymous said...

Speaking as a lawyer, der r no such authorities @ d moment but looking @ it closely, I'd say its somthg ppl shd cntemplate. Reasn being d@ d law allows 4 a divorce wen d marriage has broken dwn irretrievably. If pre-nups are entered into by intendng couples,it kud serve dem n d public wen 4 wotever reasns dia marriage hits d rocks such d@ dey don't go 2 court 2 wash dia dirty linens. Issues like custody of children n maintenance wud be taken care of. #mythoughts#

*AdvocateOf TheSupremeCourtOfNigeria*

Unknown said...

U just cracked me up....lol

Unknown said...

U just cracked me up....lol

Anonymous said...

I ve never seen anyone do it here in naija but couples do hide their assets,perhaps in their maiden names or thru offshore accounts.LOL

Anonymous said...

Dear Linda, I understand your fears. A girl going into marriage with no financial contribution will never think of prenuptial agreement.But some like you who have earned her financial independence needs protection. A lot of Gold diggers are out there. Marital decisions should be taken with the head not the heart. I have been married for some years now and i work too. People should be realistic because fantasy has a very short lifespan.

MY TURN said...

For your sake linda better get one.

Anonymous said...

prenup dey happin for naija wella.If una no know,if the man kpai,all the baby mamas go appear with pikin say na the decease get am and them won follow collect property wey him leave behind.

Anonymous said...

No 50 percent split during Divorces in Nigeria. If you divorce you leave with what you came with

Unknown said...

Thumbs up esther

Anonymous said...

Linda Biko na you dey think am jere, maybe u don see one guy wey no hold bar reach you and he's on your radar! Lol

Igor said...

Theoretically it exists,but in practice it has not been to test.This has to do with the fact that the Nigerian society and the church (especially the Catholic)respects the sanctity of marriage.My discourse is based on laws of the old Eastern Nigeria that are still applicable in South Eastern states

Anonymous said...

Hehehe,without the prenup sef if marriage scatter everybody know his or her load na. If I hear

Anonymous said...

Oyinkan? Is dat u?? Dis Sounds like u, lol

Anonymous said...

Pre-nups in Nigeria???? A society that allows a man marry more than one wife, there's no way this is going to happen.

Anonymous said...

Na real wa o

SIMPLYCOCK said...

The idea of prenuptial agreements is a child of circumstance...
Pre-nups are essentially contractual agreements entered into by couples intending marriage, and who are open to the possibility of divorce, and thus agree to vary what the law says in respect of alimony, and on their agreed terms...
The thing is, the law in most places in the western world is very protective of the woman...
Thus, in the event of a divorce, apart from the standard practice of the man leaving the house for the woman, not the woman leaving the house for the man as in Nigeria, the law in most western countries prescribes a whole lot, sometimes including that the estate in the union at the time of its dissolution should be split equally between the couple...
Thus, where one of the spouses appear to be the one generating much of the assets or estate, he/she may feel having incurred great loss as a result of the marital dissolution...
And nobody wants to be a loser...
Thus in pre-nups, people agree by way of a contract to vary the law in mutually agreed terms...
The laws governing marriages in Nigeria, i.e. the Matrimonial Causes Act as well as the Marriage Act do not make such default express provisions that may require variation by couples in contemplation of divorce...
Besides most marriages in Nigeria are contracted under Native Law and Customs.
Pre-nups are alien to Native Law and Customs, besides...
Your regular landlord and tenant agreement resembles a pre-nup in many ways than one, in that parties are at liberty to vary the law respecting the default provisions it has made in relation to its regulation of the relationship, as well as regarding the duties and obligations one party owe the other...
The point is, the law on marriages in Nigeria, has not given relevance to pre-nuptial agreements...
The woman stands to gain nothing from the estate in the union upon dissolution of marriage...
At the very best the court may make decrees in respect of her upkeep allowance and that of the children, and a few other decrees for her bare security...
That said, pre-nups make a lot of sense, especially if the woman is bringing in so much assets into the union...
It will help to protect her and the estate, which to all intent and purposes, she stands to lose to the man in the event of a divorce, as Nigerian marriage laws are scarcely dynamic or proactively protective of the woman...
The woman should do well to keep her assets in her own name, before and during marriage...
The point is, since pre-nups are contracts, the courts are in place to ensure their enforcement...
THESE FREE LEGAL ADVICE DON'T COME CHEAP...
JUST THAT I LOVE LIB...

thatfynelawyer said...

Nigeria is not a very healthy place for marriages, in fact,the entire Marital Causes Act needs to be overhauled to meet up with contemporary times.

the Nigerian parochial society and patriarchal system has dealt women a hard blow when it comes to marriage, even during the marriage, not to mention when the relationship has broken down...

a society where a man gets everything in d event of a divorce and can proudly throw out a wife of 30 years with just her clothes on her back and she will still be the one who is advised to go and beg him, notwithstanding the fact that she suffered to build with him from scratch...

even to go to court sef, she will be advised to 'leave it in God's hands' and all her years will just go down the drain like that...

if she's lucky he will take care of the children

for most men, even child support is by force, by fire...the woman will beg, send emissaries, complain at his work place and even the wise ones who go to court will get peanuts...and when there's default, the law doesn't come down hard on the man

not to mention spousal support..that one will happen when the Lord Jesus returns..

what am i saying with this long epistle? we need to update and enforce the Law regarding marriage..

marriage is a contract as well as a relationship and people should be held for their actions during the subsistence of same...

as for the pre-nup question, marriage under what is called 'conflict of law rules' is governed by either the law of the the place of celebration or the place of domicile of the parties' so for Nigerians, it will be difficult, with the present law to enforce a pre-nup but again, the justice system is changing gradually and if u have a pre-nup and celebrate your wedding where prenups are accepted, tho the court might not automatically apply the law of that place to your marriage(because the court is not a father christmas) but if it shown/argued that it was the desire of the parties at the time of celebrating that the laws of the place of celebration govern the marriage then it can be applied..

presently, i'm yet to come across such precedent but i believe with the level of enlightenment of this generation, it will soon happen..besides if nobody goes to court, we are not likely to know..

Anonymous said...

Before I got married, my mother told me to always have a secret account known only to myself where I should save funds in case of any eventuality or for the rainy day.

Linda, if this question pertains to you, better do the same. Forget the prenup agreement. Declare what you want to declare (if neccessary) and keep a secret account known to just you.

Though I have a secret account, my husband is not even interested in my accounts (the ones known to him). Our home is being run effectively. My husband takes care of all the major bills (School fees, holidays, medical bills, all household expenses etc) while I help out with some others (paying some of our domestic staff).

My husband comes from the stock of good men who know that it is their duty to provide for and take care of their family. Though he is not perfect, he takes care of the kids and I.

Its not like this generation of men who are looking for women to foot their bills. Please have a secret account known only to yourself. That will be more effective than any prenup IMO.

Don't let any gold digger come and sow where he did not reap.

Anonymous said...

It is not an accepted thing in Nigeria because majority of our women have no asset before marriage and they rarely contribute during the marriage. They leave the man to do everything. Dats why wen the marriage is over, she leaves with nothing. For those who have assets before marriage, it is advisable to leave them in your maiden name. That way the man and extended family will not be able to claim it if marriage breaks up and she has to leave. Marriage is not fantasyland o!

Anonymous said...

If you are getting married in these days and age without a prenup, you are taking a very big risk. It is part of financial planning.

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