INTRODUCTION

No human being on earth has the ability to  determine his or her own sex. It is God alone that determines whether a child is to be born as a male or female.

Thus, to deny a child certain rights by virtue of the fact that she is a female is to say the least, an act of wickedness, an injustice and an affront and insult to the Almighty God who determines sex. All men are born equal, thus should have equal opportunities. The sole purpose of this write up is to create awareness on the right of female children to inherit properties in nigeria.

THE PRACTICE IN NIGERIA

Usually, when a man dies intestate ( that is,  without making a WILL), and without contracting a Statutory marriage( Court Marriage), his properties are subsequently distributed among his children based on custom and tradition of the his people. Most customs do no permit a female child to share from such distribution.

For instance, the Igbo Custom does not allow a female child to join her brothers in the distribution of their deceased father’s estate. Moreso, where the man died without a male child, the daughters cannot inherit their father, rather, the property goes to their uncles. This practice is prevalent in many customs in Nigeria.

In Nigeria today, it sounds really awkward and strange for female children to claim equality with male children when it comes to inheritance.  It must be noted that the causes of this form of discrimination  are due to the high level of illiteracy, inequality of social-economic benefits, the nature and practices of customary laws, the courts inactivity in discouraging local customs that are repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience amongst other issues.

THE  CORRECT AND CURRENT POSITION OF THE LAW

There are jambalaya of statutory provisions both local and international that seems to frown at these discriminatory practices.

First, at the international level, there are plethora of provisions which seek to prohibit all forms of discrimination against women. See the following:

  1. Article 2 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR
  2. , Article 3 of the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) ,
  3. Article 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political rights (ICCPR)
  4. Article 2 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and
  5. Article 7 of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against women (CEDAW).

One thing is common among all the laws outlined above, ” no human being should be denied of any right on the bases of sex”. In otherwords, these international instruments frown at any practice that is discriminatory against the female folks.

THE NIGERIAN CONSTITUTION AND JUDICIAL INTERVENTION

The supreme Court of Nigeria has held in  Jambalaya of  cases to the effect that the Igbo Native law and custom which prohibits women to share from her deceased father’s estate is void as it is contrary to Section 42(1) & (2) of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

By virtue of the above constitutional provision, every citizen of Nigeria is entitled to the right to freedom from discrimination. It follows therefore that a female child can not be denied of her right of Inheritance on the mere reason of being a female.

Thus in *UKEJE V UKEJE (2014) LPELR-22724(SC), Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour, read the lead judgment and held;

“No matter the circumstances of the birth of a female child, such a child is entitled to an inheritance from her late father’s estate.

It is hereby submitted that the  practice where female children are denied of their right to share with their brothers, the property of their deceased father is tantamount to a denial of their constitutional right to freedom from discrimination. Such violation is redresible in law.

CONCLUSION

It is my view that there is no longer any impediment to the liberty of a female child to inherit her father’s property either alone or in conjunction with her brothers. In otherwords, a female child is free to pursue her right to a share in her deceased father’s estate, irrespective of any customary practice to the contrary.It follows therefore that any female child who is , has been or likely to be denied of her right either by her brothers or uncles, should approach the court for a remedy.

It must be noted that we can not shy away from the fact that there are challenges of implementation of the above position due to the fact that most customs are well rooted and many people who are victims in the rural areas are not well informed. However, by creating awarnes, which is the purpose of this write up, these discreminatory practices against women will definitely become a thing of the past.

Recommendations:

  1. Female children are hereby advised to always seek the services of a legal practitioner on the steps to take towards the enforcement of the said right.
  2. It is recommended that people should not be afraid of enforcing their right, as that is, one of the ways to ensure a better society which we all desire for.
  3. It is further recommended that people should make a WILL to avoid all these Customary practices and the incidence of litigation. This is because, the WILL will determine how one’s properties will be distributed upon death. It is very important to make a WILL. Consult your lawyer for one.
  4. It is further recommended that more awareness and sensitisations should be carried out by civil society organizations,human rights foundations and other similar non governmental organizations as it relates to the rights of female children.
  5. It is also recommended that a GST course on HUMAN Right should be introduced in all Nigerian universities to ensure that every graduate is well abreast with some of the basic fundamental rights, especially, the right of Inheritance of female children.

BY B.C OBILOR ESQ.,DIP(LAW),LL.B(HONS),BL

Human Right Advocate and public affairs analyst.( [email protected])