Bigamy and Dearth of Prosecution in Nigeria

Abstract

By law, bigamy, a by-product of polygamy, is a criminal offence punishable with imprisonment in Nigeria. It is an offence which arises from what is otherwise an incidence of marriage. Whereas marriage is a civil union based on the choices of individuals and subject to the overriding regulation and sanction of the peculiar legal system under which it is contracted and celebrated, bigamy is primarily, under several jurisdictions, a criminal act which purports to create another marriage with one or more persons in spite of an extant marriage known to law with respect to the person creating or entering into the new contract. Thus, in some jurisdictions – including Nigeria, for example, there are laws which prohibit and criminalise marriages involving a man and more than a woman or a woman and more than a man at the same time. This paper examines the state of the law on bigamy in Nigeria and interrogates the factors responsible for dearth of prosecution, in spite of apparent increasing incidence of bigamous marriages in Nigeria. Further, the paper specifically appraises the purport of Section 370 of the Criminal Code in the light of the decisions in Rex v. Inyang and R. v. Princewell, the only two reported cases of bigamy prosecution thus far in Nigeria. In retrospect, the paper also addresses the issue of desirability or otherwise of retaining a bigamy law which does not appear to be in accord with the prevalent practices or culture or reality of a people. The paper concludes that it is desirable to keep bigamy in the criminal statute books as a necessary check on the malfeasance of those who have submitted themselves to the mores of monogamous marriage under the Marriage Act.

Keywords: Bigamy, Criminal Law, Monogamy, Polygamy, Polygyny, Polyandry

JEL Classification: K14