The Anambra State Government has moved to prosecute persons who deny women and girls their inheritance rights on the basis of gender, directing the Nigeria Police Force to thoroughly investigate reported cases and transmit the case files to the Ministry of Justice for prosecution.
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The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of Anambra State, Tobechukwu Nweke, SAN, disclosed the government’s position in a letter addressed to the Nigeria Police Force and personally signed by him.
Nweke said the intervention became necessary following persistent reports of women and female children being prevented from inheriting property belonging to their parents or families on the basis of customs and traditional practices.
According to the Attorney-General, such practices have continued despite decisions of the Supreme Court declaring discriminatory customary rules which exclude females from inheritance unconstitutional and invalid.
“In light of the foregoing, you are kindly requested to ensure that your office thoroughly investigates all reported cases of gender-based disinheritance and that the case files are transmitted to this Ministry for further action,” Nweke stated.
The Attorney-General said the Ministry of Justice had also designated its Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Unit to handle the prosecution of persons accused of gender-based disinheritance, in addition to other domestic violence and sexual offences.
“To effectively combat this practice, this Ministry has designated the Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Unit to handle the prosecution of offenders under the above-mentioned law, alongside other forms of domestic violence and sexual offences,” the letter stated.
Nweke maintained that denying women and girls inheritance rights merely because of their gender constitutes an offence under Section 22 of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law, 2017 of Anambra State, which, according to the Attorney-General’s letter, provides for a punishment of up to four years’ imprisonment.
The development marks an attempt by the state government to move beyond judicial declarations against discriminatory inheritance customs to criminal investigation and prosecution where complaints are made and the evidence supports a charge.
The legal position against gender-based disinheritance has previously received the attention of the Supreme Court.
In Ukeje v. Ukeje, decided in 2014, the Supreme Court held that an Igbo customary law which disentitled a female child from participating in the estate of her deceased father was inconsistent with the constitutional guarantee against discrimination and was therefore void. The decision affirmed that a female child cannot be excluded from inheritance merely because of her sex.
Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution guarantees Nigerian citizens freedom from discrimination on grounds including sex and also provides that no citizen should be subjected to disability or deprivation merely because of the circumstances of birth.
The Supreme Court also confronted discriminatory inheritance customs in Anekwe v. Nweke, a case which originated from Awka in Anambra State and concerned an attempt to disinherit a widow on the basis that she had no male child.
In that case, the apex court rejected the customary practice, holding that a custom which deprived a widow of property rights on that basis was repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience and inconsistent with the constitutional protection against discrimination.
Despite those judicial pronouncements, the Anambra Attorney-General said complaints continued to arise concerning women and girls being denied inheritance on the strength of purported customary and traditional practices.
The latest directive therefore requires the police to investigate complaints rather than treating gender-based disinheritance simply as a family or traditional dispute.
Where an investigation discloses an offence, the case file is to be transmitted to the Attorney-General’s office, where the designated Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Unit will consider prosecution under the applicable state law.
The move is also consistent with broader efforts within Anambra to address harmful practices affecting women and girls. The state government has previously identified girl-child disinheritance and harmful widowhood practices among gender-based issues requiring intervention.
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