In UGBAH v. UGBAH (2026) 4 NWLR (Pt. 2035), the Supreme Court held that a woman can file a standalone action for maintenance for herself and that of her children without necessarily suing for divorce or nullity of the marriage.
The Court held that a woman is entitled to maintenance upon her marriage to a man, regardless of the type of marriage, whether Islamic, Customary, or Statutory. The right to maintenance of both the wife and children can be enforced if a man willfully neglects to maintain them.
In this case, the respondent, as the defendant at the trial court, challenged the appellant, as the plaintiff, for filing an action for maintenance by way of writ of summons. They contended that the appellant ought to have commenced the action under the Matrimonial Causes Act by way of a petition for divorce and then included prayers for maintenance in the divorce petition. The trial court dismissed the Preliminary Objection. Upon appeal to the Court of Appeal, the appeal was allowed, and the Court of Appeal held that the action ought to have been commenced by way of a petition.
Being dissatisfied, the Appellant appealed further to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court finally settled this issue and held that a woman need not file for divorce before seeking maintenance for herself and her children. A woman may not want to be divorced “legally” and may simply want to claim maintenance. Therefore, arguing that a woman must first file a petition and then include maintenance as a relief is a way of forcing women to divorce their husbands before they can obtain maintenance.
As it stands now, the law is now settled that a woman does not have to divorce her husband before she can seek maintenance for herself and her children. She can remain married, live apart from her husband and still enforce her right and that of her children to maintenance in court.
Thank you.
Usman A. Lanase Esq.
30-09-2026.
Friendly reminder that no one gives a fuck if you fail because when was the last time you gave a fuck if someone else failed? You have you even thought about anyone else's goals today.
We only fear failure because we think we are more important than we are.
You invited a lady over, and she suddenly passes out in your house—whether it happens during se*x or after se*x. What should you do?
I did a little research and got to know that some women have medical conditions that could make them pass out during or after se*x. If you found yourself in this situation, please don’t assume that the woman is de@d.
In this video, I break down the things you should do if you found yourself in that situation. This video has generated over 300K views on instagram and I decided to share it here as well.
Watch till the end and save this video. You may never need it, but you should know it. Kindly follow, like and share.
Thank you.
Usman Abidemi Esq.
28-09-2026.
https://t.co/a56fy1NseB
Please and please, if you have a reputation to protect and you don’t like internet drama, try all your possible best not to have anything to do with people who don’t have anything to lose.
Avoid people who like internet validation. You should not have anything to do with twitter banger boys and girls. Leave banger girls for banger boys. It’s either you listen to this or learn the hard way.
He married under the Marriage Act.
He later married other women under Islamic law.
When he died, a question arose:
Which law would govern his estate? 👀
The answer from the Court of Appeal makes this case particularly interesting.
https://t.co/FxHJkAwUdJ