A Nigerian legal practitioner, Adesanya Oluwasegun, has debunked claims that virginity or physical features — such as “standing breast” — can serve as grounds for negotiation or defence in divorce proceedings. His response followed a widely circulated anonymous plea for legal guidance on social media.
The anonymous man, a businessman with limited formal education, alleged that his wife frequently belittled him despite his nine years of full financial responsibility for the household. According to him, when he initiated divorce discussions, she demanded that he “return her virginity and standing breast” before agreeing to part ways — and threatened to push for equal division of his property in court.
The man further stated that he had solely financed their family since marriage and even established a business for his wife at the Main Market, which he claimed she never used to support the home.
Reacting to the inquiry, Oluwasegun explained that such demands have no relevance in Nigerian matrimonial law. Courts, he clarified, do not consider virginity or physical attributes as factors in divorce.
“You cannot return what nature itself changed over time. The court will completely disregard such statements because they have no legal value,” he stated.
He also noted that Nigeria does not operate a compulsory 50/50 property split during divorce cases. For any spouse to claim ownership of assets, there must be proof of contribution — financially, domestically, or in other measurable forms.
Given the man’s claim that his wife made no contributions to family assets over their nine-year marriage, Oluwasegun said it is unlikely a court would grant her rights to properties acquired solely by him.
He advised that the man could petition for divorce on grounds of irretrievable breakdown of marriage, citing emotional abuse, disrespect and other behaviours that indicate that the union cannot continue.
The legal practitioner closed with two key clarifications:
- Virginity or body features have no legal weight in divorce proceedings.
- Asset sharing is not automatic — it depends strictly on proven contribution.
The case has since sparked widespread conversation online, highlighting ongoing misconceptions about marriage, ownership rights and divorce processes under Nigerian law.