There have been cases where planned marriages are called off after the parties have invested much into it. Though hardly explored in Nigeria, breach of promise of marriage is a legal possibility[5]. There are few reported cases of claims for breach of promise of marriage[6]. Perhaps, one of the major reasons for this is the enormous burden of proving the existence of the promise in the first place. The law is that to establish the claim, the claimant must show that there was a promise to marry under the Matrimonial Causes Act, or under Islamic law or under customary law[7]. This difficulty can be solved with a provision for breach of promise claim in a prenup. The importance of this is that it would provide the needed corroboration required by law to establish the claim.
[5] The Evidence Act, 2011 recognizes breach of promise of marriage claims but provides that the claim must be corroborated.
[6] See Aiyede vs Norman –William (1960) LLR 253, Uso v Iketubosin [1975] WRNLR 187, Mabamije vs Otto (2016) LPELR 26058(SC) and EZEANAH V. ATTA (2004) LPELR-1198(SC).
[7] The special requirement for proof of breach of promise of marriage was recognized by the Supreme Court in EZEANAH V. ATTA. Niki Tobi JSC in his usual linguistic flamboyance noted that a mere convivial or romantic relationship without more is not enough for a court to found an agreement to marry.
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