Doctor Legum - LLD
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Item The statutory laws of intestate succession in South-East Nigeria: identifying the gaps of legal pluralism(University of the Western Cape, 2024) Eboh, Nnenna Joy; Diala, Anthony C.This research investigates the regulation of intestate succession in Anambra and Ebonyi states of South-East Nigeria. It highlights the difficulties suffered by women and children who are disinherited under customary law and unveils the inadequacy of constitutional provisions and intestate succession laws regulating the property rights of women and children. It also shows that irrespective of court decisions, lack of awareness and the customary practice of male primogeniture hinder the inheritance rights of women and children. It argues that in the South-East, women and children are disadvantaged by both state and customary intestate laws because these laws do not guarantee their full right to intestate property, compared to adult males. This fosters inequality and hinders women’s economic development. The research historically traces the customary rule of male primogeniture, reveals the unsuitability of this rule in modern times, and makes a case for a balancing of constitutional values with the changing nature of customary law. Using case analysis and comparative research methods, it shows the need to define the interaction of legal orders in Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution. This need includes a gender sensitive Bill of Rights, a defined right to culture, and the jurisdictional expansion of customary courts. The research also analyses unreported customary law judgments on intestate succession in South-East Nigeria with the aim of uncovering the approach of customary courts to intestate distribution of property in Igbo land compared to superior courts. Furthermore, it compares Nigerian and South African intestate succession laws in order to draw lessons for law reforms. Ultimately, the research finds that the inadequacies of Nigeria’s legal framework on intestacy deprive women and children of property rights in intestate situations in South-Eastern Nigeria. It therefore recommends a review of the legal framework on intestacy, a synergy of plural succession laws through a federal intestate succession law, an enforceable right to culture, and an expanded jurisdiction of customary courts in Nigeria’s Constitution.