"With all My worldly possessions I thee wed": Nigerian courts and the exercise of discretionary justice in property ownership disputes in marriage and divorce. Issue 1 (2nd January 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Adekile, Oluwakemi Mary
• Is Part Of: Commonwealth law bulletin. Volume 46:Issue 1(2020)
• Page Start: 3
• Page End: 26
• Publication Date: 2020-01-02
• Subjects: Law -- Commonwealth countries -- Periodicals; 349.11241
• DOI: 10.1080/03050718.2020.1731696
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0305-0718

Abstract

Abstract : The question of title to property between married couples remains intractable in Nigeria's social context. Ownership is addressed by Nigerian courts in a discretionary framework devoid of a cohesive conceptualization. By reviewing cases in Nigeria and England the paper finds that the exercise of discretionary justice is a 'cold legal question' and defective in granting a realistic outcome. A different approach is germane to achieve justice in family law. It concludes that the extant judicial approach is at variance with the marital vow 'with all my worldly possessions I thee wed' which imports unity of assets in the social psyche of parties.