Know Your Legal Rights as a Widow (II) : The Inheritance Rights of Widows in Nigeria

The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria expressly prohibits gender-based discrimination. Nigeria is a signatory to several international and regional instruments that seek to promote equal rights for men and women. These include The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the African Charter on Human and Peoples‟ Rights and the Optional Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. In addition, the apex court in Nigeria has given landmark judgements upholding the inheritance rights of women in general and widows in particular. In spite of the existence of these laws, widows still have challenges with regard to inheriting from the estates of their late spouses. In continuation of the last episode, today, we will look at what these laws are; why the hinderances despite the laws as well as the solutions to truly implementing the laws. Specifically, we would be exploring The Inheritance Rights of Widows in Nigeria with Ifeoma Benardine Esom