The patterns of inheritance and succession, particularly under intestate estate under customary law in Nigeria, have almost as many variations as there are ethnic groups in the country, and many of the variations are discriminatory in practice. The law of succession and inheritance reflects Nigeria’s plural legal system. Indigenous customary law developed rules of inheritance for intestacy through the traditional canon of descent, as adapted over the years to changes in the society and the rule of natural justice as applied by the courts. Rather than trying to cover all the patterns of succession, few of the succession patterns are examined, with particular reference to the discriminatory aspects under customary law.

What is a Will? Is a creation of statutes bounded by law and must be signed in the presence of one or two witnesses and approved by law, by so doing the process becomes valid.

In the house today is Barrister Tommy Vincent who will be giving you legal answers to questions you have on this issue.

Phone Logs:

Lawal: This topic has to do with what am going through presently. I lost my Dad 14 yrs ago. He left a right up instead of a will. The family keeps coming to claim my fathers property.

Lawyer: Generally, most people don’t realise the need for putting the will in effect before death. There is something we call estate planning, which is proper documentation of properties being assigned to the rightful owner.

Chioma: If the will is so strong and works in favor of the wife and kids, how come issues arises with families wanting to take over the husband’s properties thereby putting the wife and kids in problems.

Lawyer: Customs still has its power over will even when the will is well fixed and backed by law. To avoid issues of families trying to take over properties, the husband must set standards for his immediate family against the extended families.

Oscar: In Nigeria, there is no clear cut solution to the issue of will. Family heads should learn to properly train their children and teach them how to be independent and useful for themselves instead of depending on inheritance. The issue of inheritance sprouts so much disputes in families and at times causes death.

Oscar: There is always a constant battle between tradition and law.It appears that traditional values supercedes law. Why is this so?

Kehinde: My Dad died without preparing any will. He trained us all well and gave us proper education. None of us needed depend on any inheritance. He made us the highest priority in the presence of his family members, therefore, it is hard for any of the extended families to come and harrass us in any way.

The law of succession basically deals with estate methods of inheritance, and the rules governing them differ. When a man dies, the devolution of his self-acquired property depends upon whether he has made a will. If he has made a will, the property devolves according to the will. If no will exists—that is, under the condition of intestacy—his property devolves in accordance with the applicable customary law. Discriminations exist in both cases, but especially under intestacy. Discrimination thus exists in the method of distribution under various customary laws. Unfair practices allow some to inherit while others cannot.

The discriminatory aspects of property inheritance under customary law in Nigeria manifests in different forms and scope ranging from primogeniture rules, right of spouses, rights of adopted children and rights of illegitimate child; although it is generally agreed rule under customary law of intestate succession and inheritance that succession goes by blood.

Efeh: The Bible says, a good father leaveth inheritance for his childrens children. Fathers should learn give the highest priority to their families by giving them all they need to forge ahead in life. The wife must be well catered for so she could take the best care of the kids even when the husband is not around. Culture should not be a problem in a family.

Yetunde: I lost my Dad 16 years ago and since he died things had been very rough with my mom,myself and my siblings. My Dad is a Muslim,he had 2 wives, my mom is the second and a christian, and the first wife a muslim as well, she has 7kids, 4 boys and 3 girls. Because of the religion differences, after my Dad passed away, the 1st wife was made the beneficiary and my mother was left without nothing out of my fathers inheritance. Polygamy is simply not a good thing.

Brown Sugar: Well, i am not having this problem personally. Though my Dad is late,but i have good uncles that has been very supportive. There are instances when men try to surprise their wives, say for instance, a man building a big mansion somewhere to surprise his wife when completed, if “God forbid” the husband passes away, without the wife knowing he has a project going on somewhere,, the property automatically goes into a different hand. My point is Men should learn to communicate effectively with their wives, and tell them everything going in their lives. Afterall, for a man to be able to share his nakedness with a woman in bed, then it shouldnt be hard for them to tell carry their wives along with them in whatever they do.

The issue of Next of Kin posses a problem in inheritance if not properly addressed.

Suzan: Some women are very dangerous when it comes to wealth and properties. I have a friend who lost her Dad and the mother on getting to the scence of the incident pretended as if she was going to get an ambulance to take the man to the hospital, but what she did was to dash into the husbands room, picked up all relevant documents  that covers for properties, investments, money and anything valuable, then disappeared into the thin air, leaving behind her 6 kids to their own fate. You can imagine that extent of cruelty.

Onome: I lost my Dad last year, but before he passed away, he had issues with one of his cousin about a land. Since he is dead now and the case is still on, i want to know if i can continue the case with this cousin because i know this land belongs to my Dad.

Lawyer: I will advice you get a lawyer, gather all necessary details pertaining to the true issues about the land, and take it to the lawyer. God be with you.

Agatha: Issues of marriage, polygamy should be ruled out because it poses a big problem for everyone. Marriage is good but excellent not be married. My Dad was a wealthy man but has  many wives, when he died, all his properties and investements went down the drain because the properties were contested by all the wives.

Titi: Please elaborate on estate planning.

Lawyer: It starts when you have dependants, you should plan and decide what goes to each one of the dependants just in case death comes suddenly. The Will goes with customs, therefore, proper documentations of the will should be done with regards to the customs.

Anon: If a man leaves a will before his death and a member of the family claims that the man was mentally ill before his death. Does the will still stands?

Lawyer: Yes, it still stands.

*******Guard your heart with all diligence because out of it flows the issues of life*******