TANKO AMADU, JSC

INTRODUCTION

(1) My lords, the only key issue for determination in the instant appeal is not novel to our jurisprudence. Apart from the constitutional and statutory provisions relevant to the distribution of marital property upon dissolution of marriage, our case law jurisprudence is replete with a rich line of decided cases on the subject to guide us in the determination of this appeal. In doing so, this court is required to apply the relevant law after our own evaluation of the peculiar facts and evidence on record before we arrive at any determination of which of the two lower courts had properly apprehended the facts and evaluated the evidence within the context of the statutory evidential burdens carried by the parties before arriving at their respective findings and conclusion.

(2) The right of a person to solely acquire and own property and for protection against any interference with a person’s property is a constitutionally guaranteed right. Article 18 of the 1992 Constitution provides as follows:

1. Every person has the right to own property either alone or in association with others.

2. No person shall be subjected to interference with the privacy of his home, property, correspondence or communication except in accordance with law and as may be necessary in a free and democratic society for public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the protection of health or morals, for the prevention of disorder or crime or for the protection of the rights or freedoms of others.

(3) This constitutional guarantee of ownership of property during marriage has received further constitutional support under Article 22 of the 1992 Constitution as follows:

1. A spouse shall not be deprived of a reasonable provision out of the estate of a spouse whether or not the spouse died having made a will.

2. Parliament shall, as practical be after the coming into force of this Constitution, enact legislation regulating the property rights of spouses.

3. With a view to achieving the full realization of the rights referred to in clause (2) of this article -

(a) spouses shall have equal access to property jointly acquired during marriage;

(b) ***assets which are jointly acquired during marriage shall be distributed equitably between the spouses upon dissolution of the mar