EXAMINATION OF THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN TO PROPERTY IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The place of women in property in Nigeria is an unsettled issue between the law and customs. In other words, related legislation seems to grant equal rights of property to men and women. On the other hand, the various traditional practices influenced by patriarchal hegemonies restrict women access to property. Therefore, re-examination of proprietary rights of women is prerequisite for proper integration into the diverse Nigerian customs. Thus, the aim of this article was to examine the rights of women to property in Nigeria. The scope was also tailored accordingly. The research methodology was doctrinal approach, using expository and analytical research design. The main sources of data collection were various legal literatures from the physical and e-libraries. It was observed that the concept of property is so vast and apply to women variously. Also, that the law has provided some leverages to women to assume possessory right of properties without discrimination, though the law is not fully implemented because of customary bottlenecks. It was recommended that the National and State Houses of Assembly should modify customary laws to meet the repugnancy test and codify them to be reliable tools in the Nigerian legal system. Also, every stakeholder should apply customs in line with the decisions of final courts with regards to proprietary rights of women. The significance of this article is that it has helped to reshape Nigerians’ dispositions towards dogmatic cultural heritage which favours patriarchal hegemony. Also, spurs up the court to considering modalities for efficacious judgments on proprietary rights of women.