The Anambra State Government has instructed police to investigate and prosecute cases in which women and girls are denied their right to inherit family property, state Attorney-General Tobechukwu Nweke, SAN, announced Tuesday.
Complaints prompt crackdown
Nweke said his office had received multiple complaints of girls being excluded from inheriting parental property under customary practices, despite such customs having been struck down by Nigeria’s highest court.
“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,” Nweke wrote in a letter to the Nigeria Police Force.
He pointed out that the Supreme Court had already ruled such gender-based customs unconstitutional and illegal, yet the practices persisted in several parts of the state.
Legal penalties spelled out
According to Nweke, denying women and girls inheritance rights on account of their gender amounts to a criminal offence under Section 22 of the Anambra State Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law, 2017 — an offence carrying a prison term of up to four years.
Special unit to lead prosecutions
Nweke said the ministry’s Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Unit had been assigned to prosecute offenders in such cases, alongside its existing mandate covering domestic violence and sexual offences.
