Interpersonal Conflict of Laws (The Human Right of Free Access to Law Advocacy Legal Tips and Articles)
Copyright © 2021 By Eki Durojaiye
A Yoruba man cohabited with an Igbo lady for several years without performing any marriage rites. The non-marital union produced four children: one girl and three boys.
The man later died, so the woman had to shoulder the family responsibility singlehandedly. His relatives never offered any form of assistance to her.
Their daughter is now of age and she wants to get married. Her mum strongly insists that the traditional marriage must be conducted in her family house and the bride price be paid to her father.
On the other hand, her father’s kinsmen argue that they are solely clothed with the locus standi to conduct the traditional marriage under Yoruba native law and custom.
The Yoruba society is purely patrilineal. Children belong to their fathers, regardless of the circumstances surrounding their birth. Once a man acknowledges the paternity of a child, whether expressly, impliedly or by conduct, the child belongs to him, even if born out of wedlock.
However, the Igbos operate a mixed society, that is both patrilineal and matrilineal. Children born in wedlock belong to their father while those born out of wedlock belong to their mother’s family (or father).
Given the disparity between the Yoruba and Igbo traditions with respect to children born out of wedlock and the fact that lex loci celebrationis is an essential ingredient in determining the validity of a marriage, the question therefore is: Which of the traditions is applicable to the girl in the instant story?
Kindly share your thoughts. Thanks.
