…Attorney-General directs police to investigate cases, forward files for prosecution
By Kizito Ozoemena
The Anambra State Government has commenced moves to prosecute individuals who deny women and girls their right to inherit property on the basis of their sex, warning that the practice constitutes a criminal offence under state law.
The State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Tobechukwu Nweke, SAN, has consequently directed the Nigeria Police Force to investigate reported cases of gender-based disinheritance and transmit the case files to his office for prosecution.
Nweke made the position known in a letter personally signed by him and addressed to the police, a copy of which was made available to journalists on Monday.
The Attorney-General said the denial of women and girls the right to inherit property because they are female amounted to a criminal act under Section 22 of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law, 2017 of Anambra State.
According to the letter, offenders are liable to up to four years’ imprisonment under the provision.
Nweke directed the police to thoroughly investigate complaints relating to gender-based disinheritance and forward the resulting case files to the Ministry of Justice for appropriate legal action.
“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,” the Attorney-General stated.
He disclosed that the Ministry had designated its Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) Unit to prosecute offenders under the law.
“To effectively combat this practice, this Ministry has designated the Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) Unit to handle the prosecution of offenders under the above-mentioned law, alongside other forms of domestic violence and sexual offences,” he added.
The move comes against the background of a long-running legal and social battle over customary practices that exclude women from property ownership and inheritance in parts of south-eastern Nigeria.
The Supreme Court, in landmark 2014 decisions including Ukeje v. Ukeje and Anekwe v. Nweke, rejected customary rules that discriminated against female children and widows in inheritance matters. The decisions established that a customary rule denying a woman or female child inheritance solely because of her sex could not stand against constitutional protections and the principles of justice and equality.
Despite those judicial pronouncements, reports and legal advocacy efforts have continued to highlight cases in which women and girls are allegedly excluded from family property through customary practices.
The problem has particularly affected widows and female children in communities where traditional inheritance systems have historically favoured male heirs. Studies and reports on women’s rights in Nigeria have identified inheritance discrimination as one of the customary practices that can leave women economically vulnerable.
Anambra has its own additional legal framework aimed at addressing such practices. The state domesticated the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) legislation in 2017, providing a legal basis for tackling various forms of gender-based and socioeconomic violence. The law recognises economic abuse, including the denial of inheritance or succession rights, as a form of abuse.
The state’s legal framework also operates alongside the Anambra State Malpractices Against Widows and Widowers (Prohibition) Law 2005, which provides protections against the dispossession and mistreatment of widows.
The state government has in recent years continued to identify girl-child disinheritance and other harmful cultural practices as part of the wider gender-based violence challenge. At a state stakeholders’ conference on gender-based violence, officials identified girl-child disinheritance, widowhood practices and gender inequality among factors contributing to violence against women and girls.
The latest directive by the Attorney-General therefore seeks to shift the response from legal declarations and public advocacy to criminal enforcement, with the police tasked with investigating complaints and the Ministry of Justice taking cases forward for prosecution.
The government’s action also places responsibility on law enforcement authorities to ensure that complaints are not left at the level of traditional or family disputes where the conduct complained of may constitute an offence under state law.
Nweke urged the police to ensure that all reported cases were properly investigated and transmitted to the Ministry for further action, effectively establishing a prosecution channel for victims of gender-based disinheritance.
The initiative is expected to test the extent to which existing statutory protections and Supreme Court decisions can be translated into practical protection for women and girls facing exclusion from family property.
Beyond the immediate question of inheritance, the enforcement drive touches on the wider issue of women’s economic security, particularly for widows and female children who may depend on access to family property for housing and livelihood.
With the state already having statutory provisions criminalising forms of economic abuse and harmful traditional practices, the latest directive signals an effort by the Ministry of Justice to make enforcement a more prominent part of the fight against discriminatory inheritance practices.
