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Under Nigerian law, a person who has made a genuine and legally recognisable promise to marry and later refuses to honour that promise may face a civil action for breach of promise to marry.
The claim is not limited to women. Either a man or woman who can establish that a genuine promise to marry was made and subsequently breached may bring an action for damages.
For a claim to succeed, the person bringing the case must establish that there was an actual and concrete promise to marry, rather than merely romantic conversations, casual suggestions or an expression of hope about a future relationship. The courts will examine the evidence and circumstances surrounding the alleged promise.
The Supreme Court of Nigeria addressed the issue in Ezeanah v Atta, explaining that two key elements must be established: first, that there was a promise or agreement to marry under the applicable law; and second, that the party who made the promise subsequently failed or refused to fulfil it.
A promise does not necessarily have to be contained in a formal written agreement. Evidence of the parties' conduct and surrounding circumstances may be relevant in determining whether a legally enforceable promise existed.
A breach may occur where one party expressly withdraws from the agreement before the agreed marriage date or takes steps that make fulfilment of the promise impossible. For example, Nigerian case law has recognised circumstances in which a person who promised to marry another subsequently marries someone else as potentially constituting a breach.
Where the breach is established, the injured party may seek damages. Depending on the circumstances, these may include compensation connected to the consequences of the breach, including certain financial losses and other recognised injuries flowing from the broken promise.
However, a court will not force a person to marry another person. The remedy is generally financial compensation rather than an order compelling the parties to enter into a marriage.
The Supreme Court's decision in Mabamije v Otto (2016) also demonstrates that breach-of-promise-to-marry claims remain recognised within Nigerian jurisprudence, although the success of an individual case depends heavily on the evidence and the particular circumstances.
Therefore, while a broken engagement does not automatically mean that the jilted person will win a lawsuit, a genuine promise to marry that is legally established and subsequently breached can form the basis of a civil claim for damages in Nigeria.
Anyone considering such an action should obtain advice from a qualified Nigerian lawyer, who can assess the evidence, applicable law and circumstances of the particular relationship.
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