A Lagos-based lawyer, Mr Kehinde Nubi, says granting divorce in marriages that can still be saved is not in the interest of the society.
Nubi, Principal Partner at Kehinde Nubi and Associates, said in Lagos on Sunday that marriage remained one of the strongest institutions of the society and should be handled with seriousness.
He spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
He reacted to a speculation that prolonged divorce proceedings can frustrate estranged spouses and make one to kill the other.
According to him, if divorce is liberalised, many couples might not bother to work on their marriages.
“This is like undermining the foundation of the society, and I am not in accord with that.
“The society needs to err on the side of caution by ensuring that only marriages that have broken down irretrievably would be dissolved,” the lawyer said.
He said that it was important to give room for reconciliation of estranged spouses.
According to Nubi, Section 30(1) of the Matrimonial Causes Act provides that proceedings for a decree of dissolution of marriage shall not be instituted within two years of the marriage, except by leave of the court.
“This is to ensure that it is only marriages which have really broken down irretrievably that get to the courts for dissolution.
“Once proceedings start, in less than a year, one can get a divorce especially where both parties decide not to go the contentious divorce route.
“I do not agree that it is the length of time it takes to get divorce that is responsible for couples killing themselves in difficult marriages.
“I think couples that end up killing themselves because their marriages have broken down are not likely to be those in court because those ones have expectations that the marriage will soon be over.
“It is most likely those who feel trapped and frustrated in the marriage that can consider such evil thoughts,” Nubi said.
Another Lagos-based lawyer, Mr Alozie Nwoke, also said that prolonged divorce proceedings did not provide room for a spouse to the other.
He told NAN that a spouse killing the other was not a common feature in divorce proceedings.
“Before the matter gets to court, the parties would have lived apart from each other for at least two years.
“This way, there is limited contact by the parties,” Nwoke, of the Alozie Nwoke & Co. Legal Practitioners, Ikeja, said.
He said, however, that the parties might get frustrated in the event of delay in the divorce proceedings.
“Lawyers take time to ensure that factors that lead to delays are dealt with so as to limit fraistration in divorce matters but killing each other out of frustration is not a common feature and may only occur in extreme situations,” he said.
The lawyer said that delay in disposing of cases in Nigerian courts was not peculiar to divorce suits.
“Be that as it may, divorce proceedings are not always long, but there are some common causes of delays during divorce proceedings.
“Divorce entails parties reaching agreements on the terms of the divorce. Where this is not in place, there will likely be delays in the matter.
“Agreements ought to be reached by spouses on crucial issues such as custody of children, child support and spousal support, property ownership and asset division,” Nwoke said.
According to him, contested divorces tend to take longer to resolve than uncontested ones.
“Parties in a divorce suit can agree on the terms of their divorce, and in this case, their matter will be uncontested; otherwise, the matter will be contested, and that may lead to a delayed and lengthy court process.
“There are many contentious areas in a divorce proceedings that can lead to delays and therefore frustrate parties from getting through the legal process quickly.
“Unresolved disputes over the terms of a divorce will also extend settlement efforts; so, if a divorce suit is a complex one, it is likely to go on for a longer time than expected.
“Where a spouse refuses to co-operate by failing to provide required documentation and/or refuses to attend the divorce proceedings or hearing in court, it will delay prosecution of the matter,” he said.
Nwoke added that where one party still had hope of reconciliation, it could cause delay in divorce proceedings.
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“Even when a marriage is said to be broken irretrievably, one party to the proceedings may still feel as though the marriage can be repaired.
“Delay will be obviously unavoidable in this situation.
“Divorce is sometimes a long and drawn out process when there are issues such as refusal to cooperate, assets to be divided and child-related issues,” he said.
He told NAN that a divorce suit could linger if one of the parties refused not consent to the divorce, adding that long court adjournments could delay disposal of a divorce suit. (NAN)
