A CRITIQUE OF FAULT BASED APPROACH OF THE DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE IN NIGIERA

ABSTRACT This study shall examine the fault based base approach in the dissolution of marriage in Nigeria. The institution of marriage is sacrosanct and protected by law especially if celebrated in accordance with the Matrimonial Cause Act 2004. Although it was not the original intent of the Act, the dissolution of marriage, which is defined as the legal separation of a man and woman brought about by a court's judgment or decree, and which either totally dissolves the marriage or suspends its effect with respect to the parties' cohabitation, is invariably provided in cases where the marriage has irretrievably broken down. This has invariably produced a wide range of unsolvable issues that both petitioning parties, their descendants, and society must deal with on a legal and non-legal level. Consequently, this study shall seek to assess the grounds for fault base approach in the dissolution of marriage in Nigeria, difficulties it produces and the chances for its solution. A doctrinal research technique will be used in this study to collect data. As a result of the study's findings, it will be suggested that the Nigeria Act be amended, as it has become ultimately necessary to do so in the interest of the sanctity accorded to the concept of marriage in Nigeria; the law should ensure that the interests of the parties who may be adversely affected by a divorce decree be taken into consideration before making a decree and, where necessary, the decree should not be made if such decree will cause untold hardship to the abandoned spouse. Keywords: Dissolution, Statutory Marriage, Divorce, Criticisms, fault theory, Breakdown Theory.