DESERTION AS A GROUND FOR DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE IN NIGERIA: LEGAL AND SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS

Abstract

Marriage is a universally recognized institution through which the family, the basic unit of society, is established. The celebration and dissolution of marriage, as well as all matters relating to matrimonial causes, are regulated by the State through its legal and institutional frameworks, reinforced by constitutional provisions. In Nigeria, the Matrimonial Causes Act governs the dissolution of statutory marriages, with the overarching ground being the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.

The legal validity and sustainability of marriage are often assessed through the concept of consortium, described as a bundle of mutual rights and obligations owed by spouses to one another. Among the most fundamental of these obligations is cohabitation. The converse of cohabitation is desertion, which may be either physical or constructive. This paper re-examines desertion as a ground for divorce within the framework of irretrievable breakdown of marriage.

Adopting both doctrinal and socio-legal research methodologies, the study finds that Nigerian courts have generally applied the ground of desertion appropriately in determining divorce petitions. Drawing on the human rights principles of the right to the highest attainable standard of living and zero tolerance for domestic violence, the paper further examines the harmful effects of cultural and religious biases that stigmatize spouses who seek divorce, particularly on the ground of desertion. It recommends increased public education on the rights of spouses to equality and human dignity, as well as the rejection of harmful cultural practices that compel couples to remain in marriages that have irretrievably broken down.