What The Law Says About Paternity Of A Child Or An Adult In Nigeria. By O. G. Chukkol

It is beyond dispute that in Nigeria, matters always arise as to who the father of a child is. This does not happen between singles only, it happens also amongst some married men.

In case you don’t know, research has shown that 30% of men in Nigeria are not the biological fathers of their children. The authenticity of that research should however be a topic for another day.

To clear a preliminary point, the words “child” or an “adult” I used in the title of this article is deliberate. You will understand the reason behind it shortly.

In Nigeria, paternity of a child is determined by the following ways:

1. By acknowledgement
2. By presumption and
3. By proof

Let’s briefly discuss them one after the other.

BY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT is a situation where a man admits that he is the father of a child. Once that is done, case closes.

By PRESUMPTION is a situation where a person is presumed to be the father of a child once the child is born within wedlock (during the subsistence of his marriage) not minding whether the wife had “an away match”, that is, was conceived by another man unknown to him.

See the cases of Anozia Vs. Nnani & Anor. (2015) 8 NWLR (pt.1461) 241

and the more recent one of DURU v. DURU (2016) LPELR-40444(CA)

Lastly, once a woman proves that a particular man is the father of her child, that would be the end of the matter. It should be noted however that proving is not that easy because there is always a problem here. For example what happens in a situation where a man denies paternity? Or what is the way out when a man asserts that he is the father of a child but the mother of the child says no and points at a different person as the father? What is the way out when children claim someone as their father but the man outrightly denies? The cases are mostly worse when the person a man is claiming as his son is an adult, in such circumstances it is almost impossible to prove.

In all the circumstances I mentioned, the solution is to prove paternity through a document (say birth certificate) or scientific test call DNA. See the case of Olayinka Vs Adeparusi & Anor (2011) LPELR 8691 CA,

In 2014, the Supreme Court of Nigeria held in the case of Ukeje v. Ukeje (2014) LPELR, that where a certificate of birth has been issued, evidencing the father of a person, the content of the certificate is conclusive proof that the person named therein (in the absence of proof that the certificate was not genuine) is the father of such a person. It does not matter who gives the information before it was recorded in the birth certificate.

Also, the Child’s Rights Act, 2003 statutorily introduced the use of scientific tests in the determination of the paternity of a  person in Nigeria. By section 63 thereof, the court may, on application, give a direction for the use of scientific tests, including blood tests and Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) tests to show that a person is or is not the father of that person.

THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN PROOF OF PATERNITY OF A CHILD AND AN ADULT

If a father alleges that a child is his, an order of scientific (DNA) test may be made on the child. So also, where a child alleges that a father is his, the court may make an order for the alleged father to undergo DNA test to prove or disprove the allegation. The court readily makes an order for scientific test in both circumstances because doing that is in the best interest of the child.

However, Where a father is alleging that a particular adult (someone above the age of 18) is his son, the court will not make an order for scientific test on the adult child. Do you know why? Because if court does that, such order would not only enable the man to use the court to procure evidence in proof (or disprove) of his claim, but would be a breach of the constitutional right of privacy of the adult child. But court can allow DNA test if the adult consents. For these same reasons, the court would also not make the order on a father where the adult child (someone above the age of 18) alleges that he is the biological son of the man without his consent. See the case of Anozia Vs. Nnani & Anor. (2015) 8 NWLR (pt.1461) 241.

In the case above, Mr Anozia claimed that Mr Ignatus, a 57 year old man is the product of the sex he had with Mrs Nnani in 1957 when her husband was terminally ill. When the woman denied ever having sex with him, he sought an order of Court compelling Mr Ignatus, to submit to DNA test to prove that he was the father of Ignatus but the court refused. ITA G. MBABA, J.C.A. while delivering the Lead Judgement did not hide his fury. He fumed as follows:

“… I think I can [bare] my mind on the brazen, scandalous conduct of the Appellant, which portrays his high moral turpitude, in seeking to force a 57 year old man to take him (Appellant) as father, trying to use law to blackmail him (2nd Respondent) and his mother (1st Respondent) to accept Appellant, and that under a foundation that appears flawed and abominable.”

In the light of the foregoing, it is my belief that members of the public, particularly single ladies, who are always victims in the hands of men, now have an idea about what the law says about paternity of a child in Nigeria.

O.G. Chukkol is a student, Faculty of Law, ABU, Zaria. oliverchukkol@gmail.com