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The Anambra State Government has moved to prosecute individuals who deny women and girls their inheritance rights, warning that gender-based disinheritance is a criminal offence that could attract imprisonment.
The state’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Tobechukwu Nweke, SAN, disclosed the development in a letter to the Nigeria Police Force, directing the police to thoroughly investigate complaints involving women and girls allegedly denied inheritance because of their gender.
Under the directive, police are expected to investigate reported cases and forward completed case files to the Anambra State Ministry of Justice for possible prosecution.
Nweke cited Section 22 of the Anambra State Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law, 2017, saying gender-based disinheritance constitutes an offence punishable by up to four years’ imprisonment.
The Attorney-General said the government was acting amid continuing reports of female children being prevented from inheriting their parents’ property on the basis of customs and traditional practices.
The Ministry of Justice has designated its Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Unit to handle prosecutions relating to such inheritance cases alongside other domestic and sexual violence matters.
The government’s action also follows established Nigerian case law challenging discriminatory inheritance customs. In a case arising from Awka, the Supreme Court rejected a customary practice used to disinherit a widow because she had no male child, finding the discriminatory custom inconsistent with constitutional protections.
Despite existing legal protections, inheritance disputes involving women remain an issue in Anambra. The state chapter of the International Federation of Women Lawyers recently raised concerns about female children allegedly being denied their fathers’ property solely because they are women.
The latest directive marks a shift from simply condemning discriminatory inheritance practices towards investigation and potential criminal prosecution.
For families and communities across Anambra, the message from the state government is that customary practices cannot automatically override applicable law, and allegations of denying women property solely because of their gender may now lead to investigation and prosecution.
