Many Nigerians may not know that breach of promise to marry is recognised as a civil claim under Nigerian law.

Where a man makes a genuine and legally enforceable promise to marry a woman and later backs out, the woman may have grounds to approach the court and seek damages, depending on the circumstances and evidence available.

However, being in a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship does not automatically give a woman the right to sue simply because her partner refuses to marry her. She would need to establish that a genuine promise or agreement to marry existed and that the promise was subsequently breached.

The law also does not empower a court to force someone to marry against their will. Where a claim is successfully established, the remedy may include financial compensation, otherwise known as damages.

There is also no automatic 10-year prison sentence for refusing to marry someone, contrary to some claims circulating on social media. Breach of promise to marry is generally treated as a civil matter, rather than an offence that automatically attracts imprisonment.

The Nigerian Supreme Court has considered the issue in cases including Mabamije v. Otto (2016), highlighting the importance of the specific circumstances and evidence in determining whether such a claim can succeed.

Therefore, while a woman may sue over a genuine and legally enforceable promise to marry that was later broken, the success of such a claim depends on the facts of the case and the evidence presented before the court.