Exploring Land Ownership and Inheritance in Nigeria

This paper will aim to investigate into women's rights pertaining to land in Africa particularly as the case may be envisaged in the Nigerian cultural and legal system. Research has shown that many African women such as in Nigeria are left impoverished once their husbands die or they divorce in West Africa as the land automatically becomes the property of the dead husband family. The case applies also to a polygamist family where a man may be married to four women with many children and if the man dies in many cases, the first son takes over all the wealth of the father according to the native law and custom. It also applies to women born outside marriage and brought up by grandparents, when the granddad or grandmother becomes late, the women does not inherit any land from the family. This obviously has implications for the women and child education, hence may be in breach of human rights Protocol to which Nigeria is a signatory in regards to equality and right to education. The paper will seek to explore the legal framework for equality in Nigeria from the Human Right Protocol in relation to the legal rights of women involved in land disputes. It will look at the implications of this problem to the women and their children education. From the analysis of the key issues, it will aim to make suggestions and strategies to overcome the barriers that many women face in relation to unfair distribution of land or wealth in the absence of their spouse or family member. The paper will draw on relevant case-laws and their compliance to the Human Rights protocol (right to education and equality) as well as recommending strategies for the Nigerian women victims to fight for justice. [For the complete Volume 12 proceedings, see ED597979.]