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Supreme Court Dethrones Obong Of Calabar, Orders New Selection / Female Inheritance: Supreme Court, Igbo Culture In Head-on Collision / Supreme Court’s Decision On Female Inheritance Divides Igbos (2) (3) (4)
Igbo Inheritance Law And Supreme Court by ayinde2020: 8:02am On Sep 08, 2020 |
The Supreme Court judgment granting
inheritance to the girl child in
Igboland has put an end to a culture
that has held the society together as
patriarchal. TONY OKAFOR assesses
how this judgment may improve the
lot of the girl child in the area of
inheritance
Before the judgment , it was almost like an
abomination , to say the least, for a typical Igbo
father to bequeath an estate to his female child.
This practice necessitated the saying , ‘ Nwanyi
bu ama onye ozo’ ( a girl child belongs to
another family).
What did the Supreme Court say ? The apex
court in what has been described as a landmark
decision, upheld the right of a female child to
inherit the property of her father in a
unanimous decision . By that judgment , the
court voided the age - long Igbo tradition and
customary law , which forbade a female child
from inheriting her father ’ s estate .
The Supreme Court voided the tradition and
custom on the grounds that it was
discriminatory and conflicted with the
provision of the Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria.
The court specifically held that the practice
conflicted with Section 42 ( 1 ) (a ) and ( 2) of the
1999 Constitution .
The judgment was given in an appeal marked :
SC . 224/ 2004 filed by Mrs Lois Chituru Ukeje ,
wife of the late Lazarus Ogbonna Ukeje , and
their son , Enyinnaya Lazarus Ukeje , against Ms
Gladys Ada Ukeje , who is the deceased ’ s
daughter .
Gladys had sued the deceased ’ s wife and son
before the Lagos High Court , claiming to be one
of the deceased ’ s children and sought to be
included among those to administer the
deceased father ’ s estate .
The trial court found that she was a daughter
to the deceased and that she was qualified to
benefit from the estate of her father , who died
intestate ( without a will ) in Lagos in 1981 .
The Court of Appeal, Lagos , to which Lois and
Enyinnaya appealed , upheld the decision of the
trial court, prompting them to appeal to the
Supreme Court .
In its judgment , the Supreme Court held that
the Court of Appeal, Lagos, was right to have
voided the Igbo native law and custom that
disinherit female children. Justice Bode Rhodes -
Vivour , who read the lead judgment , held that :
“ 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 . ”
Justice Rhodes - Vivour added , “ The Igbo
customary law , which disentitles a female child
from partaking in the sharing of her deceased
father ’ s estate is a breach of Section 42 ( 1 ) and
( 2) of the Constitution , a fundamental rights
provision guaranteed to every Nigerian .
“ The said discriminatory customary law is void
as it conflicts with Section 42 (1 ) and ( 2) of the
Constitution . In the light of all that I have been
saying , the appeal is dismissed . In the spirit of
reconciliation , parties are to bear their own
costs . ”
The judgment has evoked mixed reactions from
custodians of Igbo culture , lawyers and
commentators.
Victor Ononye , a public affairs commentator
said , “ That judgment will haunt those who
delivered it , because what goes around comes
around . You do not give a judgment that not
only negates the tenets of age- long tradition
and culture and foists disharmony on families,
where women scorn and wantonly abandon
marriages and return home to cause trouble
with their male siblings .
“ Those judges merely countered natural justice .
Right from the time of Adam and the Biblical
time , men were established as heads of families
and I hope those judges have families . The
judgment was more of an academic exercise
that conflicts with tradition and culture .
Powered by RubiQub “ They have created another round of trouble .
By the way , in Igboland , few women , who do
not marry, always have a place to stay . The
courts should be mindful not to set fire on
families. They should also deliver judgments
that can stand the test of time .
“ A good percentage of women desire to marry,
leave their fathers ’ compounds and start new
families with their husbands without creating
division in their fathers ’ compound . Why would
any sane woman come back to split her father ’ s
family, married or not? That judgment is
something else . ”
For Uche Okafor, a lawyer , the judgment will
need distinction or review.
He said , “ The Supreme Court judgment needs
judicial interpretation/review . The judgment
was about an unmarried daughter of a
deceased man , who was denied her father ’ s
hereditament . If the woman was married,
would the Supreme Court have given the same
opinion ? Would that not amount to equity
aiding double plates for a married woman to
get shares from her matrimonial home as well
as from her maiden home ? I think the judgment
needs to be distinguished . ”
But Chief Akunwebe Emechebe , an Igbo culture
enthusiast , disagreed with the lawyer .
He said the judgment should apply to both
married and unmarried daughters of a man .
Emechebe stated , “ The court interpreted and
applied the law as it is . Our laws – the
constitution , the statutes and the international
conventions – frown on discrimination against
persons on the grounds of sex and not on the
grounds of the marital status of a person .
“ Unless and until these laws are amended to
bring the aspect of married or unmarried in the
laws , the position of the laws as it is today is
the position taken by the Supreme Court .
“ The courts are not interested in whether the
female in question is married, unmarried ,
remarried , divorced , etc in their decisions . ”
The Bishop , Diocese of the Niger, Anglican
Communion , Anambra State , Rt . Rev . Owen
Nwokolo , described the judgment as a welcome
development.
He said female children were not second class
citizens and should not be treated like one .
The cleric stated , “ Female children should be
accorded the same rights given their male
counterparts and therefore should not be
discriminated against .
“ Families should put the judgment in practice
and female children should stand up and claim
their rights . It is not only Supreme Court
judgment , but a God - given right and they
should claim that right. ”
Ngozika Iheagwam, a housewife saw the
judgment as an unwanted reversal of a people ’ s
culture and opined that the ruling would cause
chaos in many Igbo societies .
She said , “ What concerns the Supreme Court
with the Igbo culture ? Every woman should
look forward to getting married and settling
down in her matrimonial home.
“ Why should she start going back to her
father ’ s home to start fighting over property
with her male siblings ? That judgment will
manifest absurdity in Igboland . I don ’ t support
it . ”
The President , Ohanaeze in Anambra State ,
Chief Damian Okeke - Ogene, said bequeathing
property to a man ’ s daughter was not alien to
Ndigbo , and as such, the Supreme Court
judgment should not be seen as strange or a
surprise to Igbo people .
He said , “ Most fathers buy cars , build houses
and so on for their daughters upon marriage .
So , it ’ s wrong to say that the Igbo don ’ t give
their daughters their property .
“ If a daughter is not married or is divorced, our
custom and tradition require the father to
provide accommodation for her in his house . If
a man has a commercial property, say a house ,
he can give a part of it to his daughter to
manage and earn money from it accordingly .
All these are done in Igboland . So, it ’ s wrong to
say that a girl child in Igboland is disinherited
from her father ’ s property.
“ But I must say that not everything can be
shared between the male and female children
of a man .
“ Ancestral property is exclusive to male
children of a man and our daughters know that
very well . ”
He added that it would be an absurdity and
even an abomination for a man to bequeath
such ancestral property to his daughters .
“ Who will ever think of a man to give his Obi
( ancestral home /house ) to a daughter , who may
be married to an Ibadan man in the name of
equity or law ? That ’ s unthinkable . Therefore,
the Supreme Court judgment has limitations or
exclusions like any other law , but it is not
totally strange to us, the Igbo , ” Okeke - Ogene
stated .
For the traditional ruler of Nawfia and Umunri ,
Igwe Chijioke Nwankwo , the Supreme Court
judgment could be enforced but would be
difficult to implement in most Igbo
communities.
According to him upon marriage, daughters are
settled by their parents, who give them certain
shares of the family property, a privilege he
said male children do not enjoy during their
marriage .
The monarch stated , “ Igbo people don ’ t
bequeath the female children certain property
for security reasons .
“ Certain property , particularly land , in
Igboland belongs to the living , the dead and
those yet to be born . So , you don ’ t give such
out to a female child, who may have a bad
marriage and such property will be lost forever .
“ Some revert to the families upon the death of
the beneficiary ; that is why the Igbo don ’ t give
such property to women , who may even
transfer the land to philanderers . ”
Only time will tell how the judgment will fare
in the Igbo society .
Copyright PUNCH. |
Re: Igbo Inheritance Law And Supreme Court by olus01(m): 8:10am On Sep 08, 2020 |
i dont care about property or not. If i come next life i will still be a male child |
Re: Igbo Inheritance Law And Supreme Court by Nobody: 8:11am On Sep 08, 2020 |
This judgement is in sync with natural justice. Kudos to the judiciary on this. It's quite curious for fathers, to alienate their daughters, who always takes care of them in their old age more than daughters-in-law, from their wills. 1 Like |
Re: Igbo Inheritance Law And Supreme Court by Hyperchi(m): 8:43am On Sep 08, 2020 |
guy if the property is outside is fine. but if it in the community she is from na story, what will happen will still happen, supreme court go come the community. soon we will start seeing many single mother, because ur papa give u property u come leave ur husband. Companymatters: 1 Like |
Re: Igbo Inheritance Law And Supreme Court by Hyperchi(m): 8:44am On Sep 08, 2020 |
homosexual is part of natural justice. will u support its approver |
Re: Igbo Inheritance Law And Supreme Court by Nobody: 9:22am On Sep 08, 2020 |
Hyperchi: Well, that part of the argument is quite plausible. The women to their husbands would sound like: Do I look like someone who has no place to stay if I leave you? |
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