Presumption of Monogamy in Nigeria and the New Evidence Act: The Supreme Court Decision in Okoro v The State Revisited

Abstract

Prior to the Nigerian Evidence Act, 2011, the nature of the marriage contracted by a person, especially an accused, determines his entitlement to some of the spousal protections available under the old Evidence Act and the Criminal Code. The Court and certain learned writers have not been consistent on whether all marriages are presumed to be monogamous, and thus placing the burden of rebutting this presumption on the adverse party, especially the prosecution in criminal proceedings. This work is intended to bring out the contradictions and concludes with the view that both in law and in reality of our social context, there is no basis to hold that all marriages in Nigeria are presumably monogamous.