Group Tackles Igbo’s Traditional Inheritance Practices Against Widows, Female-child, Others

Posted by Ignatius Okpara Featured, Latest Headlines, News Across Nigeria Monday, August 26th, 2024

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Worried by the age long traditional practices that denies widows, girl-child, orphans, and other vulnerable persons rights to inheritance in Igbo land, a non governmental organization, Women and Orphans Rights to Family Assets Foundation WORFAF, has taken a sensitization campaign to the church as part of measure to change the ugly narrative.

The outreach held at Emmanuel Church Cathedral, Umuabi in the Udi Council area of the state weekend with the Anglican Union women was aimed at sensitizing them on their rights on the issue of inheritance.

Addressing the 2024 August women’s conference, WORFAF’s Director of Rights Advocacy, Ifeoma Nduokolie, posited that the time has come for all and sundry to join hands together in saying no to the said traditional practice which has been unfair to the above aforementioned group of persons.

She explained that the newly founded organization “was conceived in response to the stubborn traditional practices which deny the widow, girl-child, spinster, orphans and other vulnerable persons the right to estates and other properties of their spouse or parent’

According to her, the aims and objectives of the NGO included, “Public sensitization on rights of the widow, girl-child, spinster and orphan, Media and Legislative advocacy, Provision of legal aid to victims of Assets Rights violation.

“Research and documentation of denials, suppressions, exploitations and injuries with a view to seeking redress” amongst others.

Nduokolie further noted that the ” problem of female disinheritance appears to be worse in Igboland and that is WORFAF’s focal area. Women of other tribes cannot be said to be more hardworking or enterprising than Igbo women, yet records show they are more economically self reliant and successful because of age old traditions that entitle women in such places to certain portions of family assets whenever they are being shared.

“In the case of an Igbo woman, her right to family assets is guaranteed only through a son. And, if she happens to die or be widowed before the young boy attains adulthood, that son, along with his siblings, may be dispossessed by her husband’s relatives.

“The plight of a spinster that is an unmarried adult female is even hardly thought of. She is subdued through stigmatism that limits her relevance to only contributions towards projects which she cannot lay ownership claims to.

“If she protests, she will be told that her agemates are in their husbands’ homes. Of course, we know that not even marriage guarantees her right to family assets.

“WORFAF has therefore taken up the challenge of ensuring that the rights of women and orphans in Nigeria, to family assets as guaranteed by the law, are protected” she declared.

In his remark, the organization’s Director of Research and Documentation, Mr. Matthew Amoke, had assured the women of the support of progressive thinking men in tackling discriminatory practices.

A lawyer, Esther Otuu, (Esq) in her submission, explained the position of the Law on family assets sharing.

She noted that section 42 (subsection 2) of the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria provides that no citizen of Nigeria shall be subjected to any disability or deprivation merely by reason of the circumstances of his birth”

The lawyer equally recalled the 2014 and 2016 supreme court judgment in Ukeje and Mojekwu Vs Mojekwu, in which the nation’s apex court respectively ruled that no discrimination shall be allowed to lie against the widow and girl child for reasons of their sex.