I elect to keep sharing this, I submit that the interminable arraignments projected against the Tiv nation on Tivs offering their wives to visitors for consummation/sexual ecstasy is a deliberate premeditated falacy that is fabricated to derogate,disparage and deride the Tiv nation.

The little piece of write up scribed by the erudite Legal Juggernaut suffices in apprising/elucidating the masses on what truly transpired and why it has been propagated like wild fire.

I implore the Younger generation to read, share and keep sharing.

IS ADULTERY LAWFUL IN TIV LAND?
What the world needs to know about Tiv People and their Wives
(BY S.T. HON, SAN, FCIArb.)

It has taken me more than a decade to make up my mind on writing this article, knowing the passion it is likely to generate, no thanks to the sensitive nature of the topic. At a point, I even played with the idea of not doing any public write up on the subject matter.

However, the sheer ferocity and consistency of the misinformation being peddled around and the risk of not standing up against this deliberate falsehood against my clan (and vicariously, perhaps, against me) while I am yet alive and the greater risk of going to join my Creator at His appointed time without countering this public lie have all made me damn the consequences and send this article for publication.

It all started in 1987 in a criminal complaint of adultery, in the case of Tofi vs. Uba (1987) 3 NWLR (Pt. 62) 707 C.A. In this case, the appellant had filed a private criminal prosecution for adultery against the 1st respondent in the Magistrate’s Court, contrary to section 387 of the Penal Code.

It must be noted that under this penal provision, a man can only be guilty of adultery if he is “subject to any native law or custom in which extra-marital sexual intercourse is recognised as a criminal offence.” This provision was one of the compromise provisions of the Penal Code at the time of its enactment, which balanced Sharia law with native law and custom, as both religions or customs held sway in the then Northern Nigeria.

When the charge against the 1st respondent came up, his counsel raised objection that the charge did not disclose any offence known to law, contrary to section 33(12) of the 1979 Constitution – the equivalent of section 36(12) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended. At that relevant time, the Local Government (Declaration of Tiv Customary Marriage) Order, 1985 was in force; and section 25(1)(f) thereof provided that “any person who detained a wife duly married under this Declaration for any reason or purposes whatsoever against the wish of the husband” was guilty of an offence.

In view of this, the learned trial Magistrate dismissed the objection and called upon the 1st respondent to take his plea. Rather than do so, he applied to the High Court for judicial review, pursuant to section 33(12) of the 1979 Constitution. The High Court granted his reliefs and quashed the charge. The appellant’s appeal to the Court of Appeal was dismissed on rather technical grounds. That Court held that since the Local Government (Declaration of Tiv Customary Marriage) Order, 1985, did not prohibit adultery in express terms but merely criminalised wrongful detention of a married woman against her husband’s wish, section 33(12) of the 1979 Constitution was rightly invoked by the 1st respondent; because this meant adultery per se was not a crime in Tiv land.

The Court of Appeal also rejected the need for oral evidence to be called.
It was this judgment that laid the unfortunate foundation for the scandalous, ever-blossoming and tendentious falsehood that adultery in lawful in Tiv land. This barefaced lie is even widened to include a very silly assertion that ‘when you visit a Tiv man, he will offer you his wife’! What a monstrous and pith-of-hell assertion! Not even domestic or wild animals tolerate strangers or lesser males going near their female partners (and not even wives); talk more of the naturally well and strongly-built (chemistry-wise) and ultra-proud Tiv man!
Before I proceed further, I wish to submit that in the whole of Southern Nigeria, adultery remains a moral offence as opposed to a criminal offence. So, are we on this basis alone going to say adultery is not a criminal offence or is lawful in Southern Nigeria? I think not, with due respect.

In my mental agony of trying to repel this rapaciously-growing corporate lie against my clan (and vicariously against me), I dug deep into some fork lore and traditional songs. Two songs readily came to my mind.The first is this: “Aberanyi, ikurche, or van nya kpa ka gbidi nan; Ikurche, Terem O, or van nya ta abeda icul.” This, translated, means: “Aberanyi, let me give you information (ikurche”), even a visitor can be beaten; more information (“ikurche”) my dear father, your visitor tied your wife’s wrapper.” This is a clear indication that while Aberanyi the father was not around, the visitor misbehaved with the wife and there was need to teach the visitor the lesson of his life!
The second song goes thus: “Baba o-o, Baba u yem ke zende yo, or nyor sha yough i Aya la, or yav sha gambe u Aya; Aya ka a daa or; or a daa Aya, cho i gba ga Aya yav gadeaa, kwaghbo.” Everybody knows the meaning of “Baba.” The interpretation, therefore is thus: Father, while you travelled, a stranger entered into your elder wife’s (Aya’s) hut, sat on her bed and the two of them started pushing each other until after a while, Aya, the old women lay weak; it is an abomination (kwaghbo). Of course, the consequence of such kwaghbo or abomination could only be imagined!

My findings and views above were recently confirmed by no other person than the Tor Tiv, HRM Dr. Alfred Akawe Torkula, the paramount traditional ruler of the Tiv worldwide, in his book, The Tiv Woman: Challenges and Prospects, published by the Aboki Publishers in 2009, the foreword of which was written by no less a personality than HE Rt. Hon. Gabriel Suswam, the Executive Governor of Benue State, himself a Tiv. Writing in his capacity as the chief custodian of Tiv cultural values, HRM submitted on pages 21-22, under the banner FIDELITY, as follows:
“The challenges of the pre-colonial Tiv woman were enormous. She had to be faithful to her husband at all times. Like the Idoma of Central Nigeria who dragged their wives before alekwu for adulterous confession, as reported by Shishima (2008), the pre-colonial Tiv woman faced the same situation … married women were subjected to periodic concoction-drinking rituals to determine their fidelity in marriage … It was an exercise in morality which brought honour, respect and good reputation to the husband on one hand and the parents of the woman on the other. Any adulterous woman who dared to drink the concoction risked instant death if relevant deities were not appeased or propitiated.”

And concluding on the effect of Christianity on the moral life of the Tiv woman, HRM summed up on page 41 of the book as follows:
“No less obedient to her husband, educated, feminine in structure, comely in looks, stately in gait, and faithful among other equals, more than any woman in Nigeria, the Tiv woman today yearns and aspires for the best that is available for the womenfolk…. Through evangelisation, her belief in tsav and akombo (wizardry) has been replaced by the Christian Biblical teaching of the Almighty God … The Christian God has become central in the belief system of the Tiv people as a whole.”

What a truism! If over 95 per cent (by my estimation) of Tiv people are Christians, where then is the place for adultery?

My research has further shown me that a man reacts angrily, call it fatally, to infidelity of his wife or partner. The Tiv man is not an exception. Two recently reported cases will support this. In Sugh vs. State (1988) 2 NWLR (Pt. 77) 475 S.C., the appellant, a Tiv man, murdered in broad daylight a foreigner for flirting with his Philippine girlfriend in Makurdi, Benue State. He was sentenced to death, which sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court. More recently, the Court of Appeal confirmed the death sentence of another Tiv man in far away Osun State, who had murdered a native of that State for flirting with his wife. This was in the case of Ahungur vs. State (2012) 12 NWLR (Pt. 1313) 187 C.A. Admittedly, every society has deviants, sinners and immoral persons. Tiv land cannot be an exception till our Lord returns in His Glory to take His saints to heaven. But I oppose the lie growing like wildfire that adultery is lawful or even tolerated in Tiv land. This is an intolerable lie. It must die a natural death. Now! God bless the Tiv nation.

The allegations about it is too over weighing, are you denying it now,

La read la die.
Haha see as it long die

Too long.

Mcreloaded:
La read la die.
Haha see as it long die

The thing too long. Kilode

Op, shey na you write this thing or na copy and paste?

Long essay above is a confirmation that the allegation true. The purpose of the long essay is to confuse us.

Op can u just summarise this epistle for us in one sentence.

I have heard this rumours a lot, but, for the love of me, common sense, makes me doubt the rumours. I never really believed it. And I also do not believe Tiv women are mostly prostitutes. Though the number of the uneducated among Tiv women is alarming; prostitution is a thing common to all people. I have seen a lot of chaste Tiv women.

Tiv man go kill am man wey try am with him wife ooo.

Them fit give you their 16n but wife na death you find oo.

Make me remember this song.

Ndoo kwasi ndoo kwasi.

kwasi ku ma WA oo kwasi ku ma WA ma

Ndoo shima ndoo shima.

Even yemisi Aya suswan go fit kill am tiv woman wey near him husband.

Random men are already 4kin them in brothels across Nasarawa and F.C.T

Hmmmm

Op.....no matter what you write here they do it for their tribes men but not for visitors from other tribes Please don't try to change people's culture.

So you wrote a term paper on the topic just because you want to refute the allegation...do you think everyone here has the time to read it?

Them they give

But because of insults, they've restricted it and give only to themselves

It's part of their tradition so I see nothing wrong with it

I no fit read abeg.🤣😂

In Igbo land they do eat human meat and sleep with their daughters.

one thing I've noticed is that Tiv people like ashy work... it's not hard for you to see a Tiv lady in the brothel

Casham:
I have heard this rumours a lot, but, for the love of me, common sense, makes me doubt the rumours. I never really believed it. And I also do not believe Tiv women are mostly prostitutes. Though the number of the uneducated among Tiv women is alarming; prostitution is a thing common to all people. I have seen a lot of chaste Tiv women.

That’s right! There are good and bad people everywhere!

jom28gy:
The allegations about it is too over weighing, are you denying it now,

There is an offer of over N10m for any one with concrete proof of this allegations to be given. It started by one person offering N200k and people kept adding to it till as at Saturday, it was over N10m.

If you know anyone who had Ben offered a wife by a Tiv man, or if you yourself have benefited from such, show proof by stating the names of the husband, the wife, and the kindred, clan and Local Government of your benefactors, when all these are verified, you will be given N10m cash.

If you have no proof, keep your peace.

Cheers.

dontrulee:
Op, shey na you write this thing or na copy and paste?

I am Tiv man myself, I tried much to make it short, and that's the shortest it can be.

Newton2024:
Long essay above is a confirmation that the allegation true. The purpose of the long essay is to confuse us.

If you have any evidence, go to Mnzough U Tiv (Tiv day celebration Gboko 2017) on Facebook and give us dull details of your benefactors and go home with N10M, if all details are verified to be true.

If not, keep your peace.

Tozocalamity:
Op can u just summarise this epistle for us in one sentence.

Adultery is not acceptable in Tiv land, we even believe that, any man that is having a secret affair with someone's wife automatically become his chicken to be offered to a diety known as "IMBOLIVUNGU" a replica of "OFFOR" of the Igbo people.

How on earth can someone who doesn't want to share a girlfriend with another person gives out his married wife to a visitor?

Plans are already on the way to sue the slot that churned that nonsense out on a national TV.

Casham:
I have heard this rumours a lot, but, for the love of me, common sense, makes me doubt the rumours. I never really believed it. And I also do not believe Tiv women are mostly prostitutes. Though the number of the uneducated among Tiv women is alarming; prostitution is a thing common to all people. I have seen a lot of chaste Tiv women.

All humans detest rivalry in a single person to single person relationship, how can a man give his wife out, for what?

okunwaye:
Random men are already 4kin them in brothels across Nasarawa and F.C.T

Is this same as a man given out his married wife to a visitor?

I am aTiv man, who lived in different parts of Nigeria at different times, I can tell you that prostitution is inherent in all tribes, if you can name your tribe and make your WhatsApp number available to me, I will have your tribal sister video talk to you from a brothel in a matter of days.

Let's not talk because Nairaland is a faceless forum.

epondudu:
Op.....no matter what you write here they do it for their tribes men but not for visitors from other tribes Please don't try to change people's culture.

If you were to make your identity known, I would have made you to present your evidence in court to deter others from speculating what doesn't exist.

Rucheen:
Them they give

But because of insults, they've restricted it and give only to themselves

Go to Tiv land and drag or share an ordinary girlfriend with another person, come back with your testimony.

SIMPonPatrol:
It's part of their tradition so I see nothing wrong with it

If you are sure this is our tradition, and you have proof to this effect, go to Nnzough U Tiv (Tiv Day Celebration Gboko 2017) on Facebook, there is a N10m offer for you, submit the details of your benefactors, after verification, you will be given N10m.

If not, keep quiet, or I will personally ensure that there is no more faceless profile on this forum, to stop people from talking without consequences.

Shinjawestern:
In Igbo land they do eat human meat and sleep with their daughters.

This is another lie, I am a Tiv man, I have been in Igbo land for 13 years now, I have been to Anambra for four years, Abia, one year, Imo 8 years. I have also spent months, weeks and days in Evonyi and Enugu. I can tell you sincerely that, this is a crime against a whole tribe you have just committed.

I do read of divorce cases from the western states of Nigeria, where the husbands were found by their wives to be having carnal knowledge of their bilogical daughters, this is found in almost all the tribes, some people do it for evil rituals, you can not use a fews case to stigmatize a whole tribe, this is evil.

OKUCHI11:
one thing I've noticed is that Tiv people like ashy work... it's not hard for you to see a Tiv lady in the brothel

This is not only synonymous with the Tivs, where I reside, the Calabar/Akwaibom has taken the led.

The Igbose are not left out, I have Yoruba agbo sellers, who are also selling their bodies to willing buyers, they hide under agbo to hwak their bodies, there are also hausas in Hijab in brothels here in the eastern part of the country. Benin girls are not left out.

So, what are you saying?

Abemy:


I am Tiv man myself, I tried much to make it short, and that's the shortest it can be.

You tried, thanks for the enlightenment.
Are you a lawyer by the way?

I'll suggest you write another version that majority of people will relate with. This one is filled with a lot of technicalities