A REVIEW OF THE EFFECT AND THE APPROPRIATE LOCATION OF VERIFYING AFFIDAVIT IN MATRIMONIAL PROCEEDINGS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The decision of Court of Appeal in UNEGBU v. UNEGBU(2004) 11 NWLR (884) 332 that a verifying-affidavit MUST be a continuum of matrimonial pleadings has been considered a technical justice by same Court in ODUSOTE v. ODUSOTE(2011) JELR 41244 (CA);thereby reversingits earlier position on the interpretation of Order V Rule (10)1 and Order VII Rule 11(1) of the Matrimonial Causes Rules,1983. Verifying-Affidavit is the life wire of pleadings in matrimonial proceedings which must be written in particular format. Prior to the decision of the Court of Appeal in Odusote v. Odusote, the location of verifying-affidavit in matrimonial pleadings was a great deal as same used to be a booby trap for many lawyers and judges of trial courts. Drafting of verifying-affidavit was a bit more technical as it must be carefully drafted and written on the pleading to be accepted appropriate by the trial Court. The article sought to expound and review the positions of Court of Appeal on the appropriate location of verifying-affidavit in matrimonial pleadings. The article is segmented intofiveparts, namely: Introduction, Strict interpretation of Order V Rule 10(1) of MCR, Liberal interpretation of Order V Rule 10(1) of MCR, the Balance between technical justice and substantial justice and Conclusion.