Introduction
In many African families, the issue of inheritance is not just a legal matter, it’s deeply tied to cultural expectations, and it then turns to one deceptively simple question: which law governs the deceased? The answer then determines whether a woman can claim a part of her father’s estate.
Amaka Ilohe, is a young Igbo girl, whose father died without leaving a will behind and he lived his lived as a Traditional Igbo man. Amaka’s father was a prominent businessman in their community, and he died suddenly. Amaka, the only child of her Father, naturally wanted a part of her father’s legacy, which slowly but surely became complicated.
Since her Father’s two brothers had been brought up to expect that property only flowed through the male line, and as their brother had no son, they saw Amaka as a woman who could not inherit it. They felt the inheritance was for the male children of their Igbo community.
Legal Framework
As it stands now Nigerian Succession law does not operate in a vacuum, it responds to the deceased’s personal law, his marriage system and the customs he lived by. Once that According to Nigerian statutory law, male and female children have equal rights to inheritance, and the law or practice that discriminates he from inheriting is in conflicts with the fundamental human right to freedom from discrimination in Section 42(1)(a) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution.
Customary Law Challenges
When a man lives and dies as a traditionalist, the courts presume that his estate would be shared according to the customary law of his community. Under most Nigerians customary systems, property flows along the male line excluding daughters altogether and wives fare no better. While Amaka’s two brothers adhere to the customary Igbo belief that no woman may inherit family property, the legal developments in Nigeria tell another story. It has challenged Igbo customary law, which traditionally excludes daughters, for violating constitutional rights.
This approach was affirmed in Nezianya v okagbue (1963), the Supreme Court recognised that the widow of the deceased merely had a “right of residence”, not a right of inheritance.
But this traditional framework no longer operates unchecked.
Judicial Interventions
The Nigerian Supreme Court has, through landmark rulings, affirmed that discriminatory Igbo inheritance customs constitute a violation of the Constitution’s guarantees of equality and non-discrimination. The Constitutional challenge to discriminatory customs reached its peak in Ukeje v Ukeje originating from the Lagos High Court, the Plaintiff Cladys Ukeje sued her stepmother and brother, seeking that she be included among the persons to administer the deceased’s estate. The High court found in favour for her and upheld that the custom violated her rights under the Constitution. The decision was also upheld by the Court of Appeal. One of the five judges who heard the case, Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour, issued the Court’s ruling, stating that a female child is entitled to inherit from her late father’s wealth regardless of the circumstances surrounding her birth. As a result, the Igbo Customary Law violates Sections 42(1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution by denying a female child the right to share in her father’s estate.
Such a precedent ensures daughters like Amaka will have their rights protected to inherit from their father’s estate.
The position is even clearer if the deceased contracted a statutory marriage or lived under the umbrella of statutory succession. A person married under the Marriage Act is by law automatically
governed by the Administration of Estates Law. Under this law, children rank far above extended family. Where a man dies intestate leaving children but no spouse, the entire estate devolves upon the children to the exclusion of parents, siblings, uncles or aunts.
In fact, statutory succession operates with precision, spouses and children are first beneficiaries, before parents and siblings come into the picture where there are no descendants.
Conclusion
In Nigeria today, as regarding succession, the question is no longer whether the daughter is entitled to inherit, the law has moved beyond that. The real question in practice and in court, is simply determining the personal law of the deceased, because once Amaka is identified as the surviving child, the brothers’ claims collapse under both customary and statutory laws. But the reality still is that despite legal protections, many women still find resistance within their families and communities when exercising inheritance rights, despite constitutional and legal protection. The struggle continues to reconcile constitutional mandates with deeply rooted cultural practices in many communities of Nigeria.
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