By Chidi Grace Obeke
In the ongoing struggle to align Nigerian jurisprudence with basic human dignity, genuine breakthroughs are forged in courtroom benches where bold judicial officers choose justice over comfortable orthodoxy.
Such a watershed moment occurred at the Upper Customary Court in Kaduna State, where His Worship Emmanuel J. Samaila delivered a masterclass in progressive judicial interpretation in HM v. MH.
In refusing to evict a wife of 26 years from the family residence and formally declaring her a joint owner, His Worship struck a decisive blow against a deeply entrenched customary fiction: the notion that a woman’s decades of domestic labor, unpaid care work, and home management carry zero legal equity when property is distributed. His Worship shattered this unreasonable standard with unflinching clarity, observing that “no wife keeps receipts” while raising a family over a quarter-century.
The Local Reality: Deceit and Dispossession in Ngwo
The urgent necessity of such judicial courage is laid bare by the harrowing cases we encounter daily in Enugu State.
AWLA Enugu is currently handling a deeply disturbing case involving a widow from Ngwo.
Following the passing of her husband, his family members orchestrated a calculated scheme driven by greed and customary deceit. Fearing the social disgrace of burying their brother without his wife and son, the family lured her back under the guise of reconciliation and funeral obligations.
Once her husband was buried, the betrayal unfolded. In full view of the public, they brought a vehicle, forcibly packed out her belongings, and raided her business shop to strip her entirely of her late husband’s share of inheritance.
What makes this case particularly egregious is that a female Civil Defense (NSCDC) officer—who is herself a member of the late husband’s family—was central to hatching and executing this evil plan. It is doubly tragic when a woman, empowered by state authority and wearing a uniform sworn to protect citizens, becomes the instrument of oppression against another woman.
AWLA Enugu stands firm: wearing a uniform or occupying a high station does not place anyone above the Constitution or statutory protection laws. We are relying strictly on the law to ensure this widow recovers her property, her dignity, and her full inheritance rights.
A Call to the Higher Bench
While His Worship Samaila’s judgment in Kaduna is a celebrated victory, one decision from a court of first instance cannot carry the weight of systemic reform alone.
Cases like our Ngwo widow prove that custom is too often used as a weapon to dispossess women. AWLA Enugu respectfully calls on judges across all judicial tiers—particularly of our higher courts—to tow this same progressive line:
To Customary and High Court Judges: Exercise statutory authority under natural justice, equity, and good conscience to strike down discriminatory customary property practices that leave widows and divorced women destitute.
To Appellate Justices: Re-examine restrictive property precedents and embrace a gender-responsive constitutional interpretation that protects matrimonial property rights from predatory in-laws.
To Law Enforcement Agencies: Hold female and male officers alike strictly accountable, ensuring personnel are never permitted to use their uniforms to facilitate illegal evictions and customary dispossession.
When the judiciary boldly validates domestic contributions and enforces statutory inheritance protections, it sends an unequivocal message: the quiet sacrifices of women are recognized, protected, and vindicated under the full authority of the law.
- Chidi Grace Obeke is the State Coordinator, African Women Lawyers Association (AWLA), Enugu State Branch.
