Emeka Ugwuonye, representing May Edochie, has provided an update on her divorce proceedings with Yul Edochie. recent Facebook post, Ugwuonye detailed that the court mandated a compulsory conference, a standard procedure in Nigerian family law. Thonference requires both spouses and their legal representatives to meet and attempt to resolve disputed issues before the court. The is to facilitate agreements on contested matters, potentially streamlining the divorce process.
In his post he wrote;
DPA UPDATE ON THE DIVORCE CASE OF MARY YUL-ED0CHIE V. YUL EDOCHIE AND UCHECHUKWU JUDITH MUOGHALU (JUDY AUSTIN)
The court held a hearing on the case today. The issue before the court today was the report of the compulsory conference the court had ordered the parties to hold.
Just to explain for those who are not familiar with this aspect of the law. A compulsory conference or mandatory conference is part of the family law procedure under Nigerian law. When a husband and his wife come to court for divorce, the court has to direct the parties and their lawyers to meet and hold a conference between the two sides. The purpose of this conference is to allow the parties to try to reach an agreement on some if not all, the disputed issues before the court. A successful conference will resolve some of the issues. For example, the parties may agree on how to share their marital properties. Whatever they agree will be conveyed to the court through the Report of Conference. If they do not agree, they should also inform the court. If they don’t agree, the court may ask them to go back and hold more talks.
Last time the case came up, the parties informed the court that the parties had not filed their report. That meant that the discussions they held were not conclusive or that they could not reach an agreement. The court gave them time to present their report. That was the business of today.
Today, after hearing that the parties still had discrepancies, the court granted them more time to hold another conference virtually to see if they would agree on anything. The hearing will continue in March and the court is expecting to receive at the next hearing a report or a clear indication that the parties failed to reach an agreement on anything. That will guide the court in setting the direction of the trial.
This update is simply an objective summary of the present state of this case. It is not meant to present the view of any one side. We give this report in order to avoid having to answer questions individually as to where the case stands now.
NOTE: Judy’s involvement in the case is only because she is being accused of committing adultery with Mr. Edochie and falsely claiming to be married to him when she knows that Yul Edochie is not eligible to marry another woman.
Thank you.”
