A Critical Analysis of Ugbah v Ugbah (2025) LPELR-81732(SC): Substantive and Procedural Dimensions of Maintenance Actions under Nigerian Family Law

This article presents a comprehensive critical analysis of the Supreme Court’s decision in Ugbah & Ors v Ugbah[1], focusing on its substantive and procedural dimensions within Nigerian family law. The judgment represents a defining moment in the development of matrimonial law, particularly regarding the enforcement of maintenance rights and the flexibility of procedural rules in achieving substantive justice. The Supreme Court, per Abiru JSC, clarified three important questions: whether maintenance can be claimed independently during the subsistence of a statutory marriage; whether a wife may institute such an action without concurrently seeking dissolution; and whether the use of a writ of summons, instead of a matrimonial petition, invalidates such claim. The Court’s resolution of these questions consolidates the jurisprudential movement away from rigid procedural formalism, towards a purposive justice model, grounded in access to relief for dependents. This essay situates the Supreme Court’s judgment within the continuum of Nigerian family law evolution, analysing its implications for the interplay between substantive entitlements and procedural mechanisms.

[1] Ugbah & Ors v Ugbah [2025] LPELR-81732(SC).