Marriage Act hasn’t helped – says lawyer

A Lagos-based social critic and right activist, Chief Malcolm Omirhobo, on Thursday called for review of Nigeria’s Marriage Act to bring it in line with prevailing circumstances.

Omirhobo told newsmen in Lagos that although the Act had laudable provisions, it was not being well enforced.

According to the lawyer, offenders under the Act are not being punished.

He said that bigamy, for instance, had become rampant but was not being punished in spite of provisions in the Act.

“It is important we face the reality and understand that African setting, as it were, was well organised, and a man was free to marry as many wives as he could maintain, and they all thrived in peace.

“Now, marriage under the Act criminalises a man having more than one wife and vice versa, with a penalty of seven years’ imprisonment for offenders.

“This has neither helped marriages nor cured any of such practices which it seeks to prevent, we find more cases of bigamy all around us in our society nowadays.

“The question is: How many men have been convicted for the offence of bigamy even where their actions are glaring before the public?”

Omirhobo said that there was need for review of the Marriage Act to keep it in tune with realities in the Nigerian society.

“If you ask me, I will say that Africa is blessed with rich cultures and practices; where we find a lacuna or gap in our laws, we can then look into some of these received English laws only to fill up the gap,” he said.

He suggested that the marriage Act could be reviewed to provide that a man would only be entitled to marry the number of wives whose needs he could legitimately provide.

Omirhobo said that this would help to stem the tide of promiscuity, domestic violence and marriage breakup.