Customary Law and Gender Inequality in Property Inheritance in Sagamu Local Government Area (LGA), Southwest Nigeria

Abstract

The degree to which customary law safeguards women's property and inheritance rights in Southwest Nigerian communities was investigated in this study. Even though the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and Section 42 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) Constitution all guarantee equality and forbid discrimination, women are still subject to unfair inheritance practices under customary law. The study examined the structure of customary inheritance systems, the legal protections provided to women, and the obstacles preventing successful implementation in order to investigate the ongoing gap between formal legal protections and discriminatory customary practices. The study concentrated on a few villages in Southwest Nigeria where customary law is still significant. The study used a socio-legal doctrinal methodology that involved the investigation of constitutional provisions, statutory legislation, judicial judgments, and pertinent scholarly literature. It was informed by legal pluralism theory, feminist legal theory, and a human rights-based approach. The results showed that inheritance customs are still primarily patrilineal, with daughters and widows often denied or given restricted inheritance rights. Even while judicial precedents and constitutional provisions offer significant legal protection, cultural resistance, legal pluralism, insufficient institutional processes, low legal awareness, and socioeconomic impediments continue to hinder enforcement. According to the study's findings, women's inheritance rights are more strongly recognized by law than in reality. It suggested extending legal awareness programmes, bolstering enforcement institutions, encouraging women's economic empowerment, and harmonising customary inheritance laws with international human rights norms and the constitution. By illustrating how legal heterogeneity and patriarchal customary norms continue to jeopardise the effective protection of women's inheritance rights in Nigeria, the study advances socio-legal scholarship.