By Yejide Gbenga-Ogundare
A woman that has children for her
husband and had married him before a house is built has the right to
live in the house with her children even after divorce under the
provisions of the Married Woman Property Act 1882, a court held on
Friday in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The belief that patriarchy is so
entrenched in the Nigerian system and women have no rights even under
the law has been proved to be an erroneous one, majorly propounded by
those ignorant of the rights provided under the law, the court said in a
landmark judgement.
The provisions of the Married Woman Property
Act 1882 formed the basis of the pronouncement of the Chief Judge of
Oyo State, Justice Munta Abimbola, on Friday in a property suit between a
divorced couple, Toyin Arajulu, formerly known as Mrs Toyin James and
her former husband, Mr James Monday.
The court held that “a
husband who marries a wife and builds a house during the pendency of the
marriage stands the risk of losing that house if he later divorces the
woman who had children for him unless such woman, of her own volition,
leaves the matrimonial home.”
Justice Abimbola, while ruling on
the matter, emphasised what is known in law as the “palm tree justice,”
which indicates that it does not matter in whose name the property
stands or who pays what (on the property) and in what proportion as
determination of such matters transcends all rights, legal or even
equitable, but simply what order is fair and just in the circumstances
of the case, citing the case of Home Vs Home (1962) 1 WLR 1124 at 1128.S
17 Married Woman Property Act 1882, which is a statute of general
application.
Toyin Arajulu had filed the suit against her
ex-husband, Monday James, who she married under Native Law and Customs
in 1997 and for whom she had four children.
She claimed that
while she was married to him, they had put resources together and built
two flats of three bedrooms at Ayedun in Akure, Ondo State and procured a
plot of land at No 7, Fadana Biala Estate, Olodo, Ibadan, where they
built a three-bedroom flat and a storey building which is still under
construction before their divorce in July 2014.
She averred that
before the divorce, her husband had moved out of their matrimonial home
in Olodo but only came constantly to try to forcibly eject her and the
children, usually accompanied by thugs who attacked her and her
children.
She added that on August 15, 2014, one of her
children, Bidemi James, was wounded in one of the episodes of attempted
violent eviction and the sum of N530,000 from her business taken by her
ex-husband and his accomplices.
She claimed that he had concluded
plans to sell off the joint property without her consent and had
continued to victimise her and the children, asking the court for a
declaration that the property is jointly owned by the two of them and an
order that the landed property with the three-bedroom flat and
uncompleted storey building be sold and proceeds divided equally between
them and an order of perpetual injunction restraining James from
harassing her and the children.
In his counter claim and defence,
the ex-husband stated that when he bought and constructed the Akure
property, his wife was a full housewife and had no contribution to the
project, adding that the situation was the same for the Ibadan property
as his wife only signed as a witness as she had no job and only depended
on what he gave her to take care of the children when he travelled out
of the country.
According to him, she was only trying to
fraudulently take over his property, adding that her claims were
vexatious, gold digging and an abuse of court process.
He also
asked the court to declare that the receipts of purchase his ex-wife
presented were forged and that she should vacate possession of the
property which she had refused to give up despite service of statutory
seven days owner’s intention to recover possession and perpetual
injunction restraining her from occupying the building.
Justice
Abimbola, while ruling on the case, held that the landed property at No
7, Fadana Biala Estate, Olodo, Ibadan, together with the three-bedroom
flat and uncompleted storey building is jointly owned by the two.
On
the second relief that both buildings be sold as requested by Toyin,
Justice Abimbola held that, “I will not give such orders in respect of
the two buildings. Particularly, Section 17 Married Women Law of Oyo
state Cap 83, Laws of Oyo state 2000 gives a court the discretion as it
thinks fit on the issues of title of possession to property.
“Section
18 also enjoins the court to treat such property as a joint property if
the issue has to do with the maintenance of a matrimonial home. My
order to this effect is that the completed three-bedroom flat on the
land be retained as the matrimonial property and the four children are
entitled as beneficial owners by way of a resulting trust created for
them by their parents. The mother, as long as she remains unmarried, is
directed to be in possession undisturbed in order to take care of her
children.
“The uncompleted storey building is ordered to be sold
by both parties and the proceeds divided in equal share. The half share
shall go to the wife for the maintenance of the children. A divorced
wife has no business being maintained,” Justice Abimbola held.
The
court also restrained James from harassing Toyin any further or
disturbing the quiet possession of the property by her and the children,
holding that, “the rationale is that a husband who marries a wife and
builds a house during the pendency of the marriage stands the risk of
losing that house if he later divorces the woman who had children for
him unless such woman, of her own volition, leaves the matrimonial home.
Also, a divorced woman is not entitled to any maintenance allowance but
maintenance of the children by way of settlement.”
Source:- Tribuneonline
Share your thoughts