Lawyer Says No Law Requires Woman To Take Husband's Surname After Marriage, Video Sparks Debate

• A lady who is a trained lawyer has said there is no law in Nigeria that compels a woman to change her name after marriage
• The lawyer also said there is no law that requires a woman to remove her husband's surname after a divorce
• According to the lawyer, a change of name after marriage is a matter of choice and not compulsory in Nigeria

Reactions have trailed a video posted by a lawyer who said it is not compulsory for a woman to do change of name after marriage.

In a TikTok video, the lawyer said a woman is not under compulsion to take her husband's surname after marriage.

According to Celebrity Lawyer, there is no law in Nigeria that compels a woman to adopt her husband's name.

She also said a woman is not compelled under any law to drop her husband's name in the event of a divorce.

She argued that the whole change of name practice by married women in Nigeria is based on choice.

Her words:

"Does marriage mean changing your name? No, sis. It’s your choice — not a law! In Nigeria, no law compels a woman to take her husband’s name after marriage. Keep your name, change it, or hyphenate — do what feels right for YOU."

Some of her followers who watched her video, however, argued that the change of name is based on tradition, and not law.

Watch the video below:

Reactions as lawyer shares her opinion about marriage

@Altruist said:

"You always sound confused. Are you sure that you studied law? The culture of the land is supreme."

@wale_solution said:

"There's no law that mandates a man to pay bride price in Nigeria, this woman should stop misleading people."

@AML Unmasked

"So what if she’s using the husband's name to commit financial and government benefit fraud? Best get the court to have her change the name back. There are cases where fraud has happened because of name."

@elegbedeesther2 said:

"But banks always demand that your bvn and nin and name used in the bank align so how's that going to work."

@DDEE-LAW said:

"Thank you lawyer. Please note that the court is never the originator of marriage. And very soon people will never do court marriage. Because court marriage is totally useless."

@PRINANIE Luxury hair said:

"Exactly it’s a thing of choice, and a thing of agreement between the couple. Been married for almost 5 years and I bear my father’s name. Not changing the name doesn’t mean you are not a good wife."

Lawyer shares how long one must wait before remarriage after divorce

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that a Nigerian lawyer has shared information on TikTok, stating that under Nigerian laws, one cannot immediately go into another marriage after a divorce.

The lawyer said that one would be committing a crime if, immediately after divorce, they go ahead to contract another marriage immediately.

She said after divorce, one must wait for three months so that the dissolution of the marriage could take effect before another marriage is contracted.

Source: Legit.ng