How Abel sisters won family inheritance case

Four sisters on Wednesday, March 29, in Port Harcourt became the first beneficiaries of the Rivers State Prohibition of the Curtailment of Women’s Rights to Share in Family Property Law No. 2 of 2022 as a Port Harcourt High Court ruled in their favour in a case  between them and their three brothers.

The ladies, Chinyere, Perpetual, Bertha and Josephine Abel were also awarded damages to the tune of N72-million by the court, presided over by Justice Augusta Kingsley Chukwu who also ordered the men to publish an apology in a national newspaper and two local tabloids.

The four sisters had instituted legal action against their three brothers for discriminating against them in the inheritance of their father’s estate.

The claimants asked the court to interpret some sections of the 1999 constitution as amended as well as sections of the Rivers State Prohibition of the Curtailment of Women’s Right to Share in Family Property Law No. 2 of 2022.

The sisters capitalised on the coming into effect of the law in Rivers State, having been assented to by the state governor, Nyesom Wike, in September 2022.

The governor, when assenting to the law and its essence, declared, “We have even found out that women are more useful to us than even the men. The day you’re getting old and dying, you’ll know that you need more daughters than men. They will leave their husbands’ houses and come to take care of you.”

“But because you’re a girl, a woman, you’re not entitled to inherit what belongs to your father. It is not you who decides on having a girl or a boy. It is God. So, put yourself in their shoes today where, by God’s mercy, you have three children, all girls, and you struggle in life to see what you can keep for them.

“Tomorrow, one of their uncles comes and says, ‘My friend, girls don’t inherit their father’s property.’ With all your efforts in life, somebody comes to discriminate against you. Why? The governor noted.

He added that the law would enable women to actualise their potential, and urged them to challenge discrimination in court based on the new law.

The Abel sisters approached the High Court seeking the interpretation of some sections of the 1999 Constitution as amended, as well as sections of the Rivers State Prohibition of the Curtailment of Women’s Right to Share in Family Property Law No 2 of 2022.

In the judgment delivered on Wednesday, March 29, Justice Chukwu asked the defendants to pay the four women N72-million as damages and also publish an apology in a national newspaper and two local tabloids, and then proceed to reshare the estate to accommodate them adequately.

Speaking to journalists after the court session, the lawyer of the claimants, Loving Akwu, hailed the court for the judgment.

He also commended the Rivers State Prohibition of the Curtailment of Women’s Right to Share in Family Property Act, which was sponsored by the member representing Obio Akpor Constituency Two in the Rivers State House of Assembly, Michael Chinda.

He said; “Interpreting the two laws, (the Constitution and the Rivers State Act), women’s rights are highly protected in the community or society, hence they are entitled to participate in the distribution of family property.

“And this case today is specifically to establish the fact that this law has come to stay, because any law that derives its validity from the constitution, the law must be enforced.

“As a matter of fact, the law has provided that if you fail to comply with or work contrary to these provisions of this property law or constitution, you are liable to imprisonment”.

The claimants, on their part, saluted the court for the judgment. Bertha Abel, who spoke on behalf of her sisters, said they were particularly happy to be partaking in the sharing of their father’s property going forward.

She said, “We are so happy with the decision of the court today, I’m so happy that we won the case.”

Although the tense political atmosphere in the state seemed to downplay the judgment and its import on society, as not much has been said about it, the reactions that followed the enactment of the law in September, 2022 underscored its importance to women the society in general.

The Paramount Ruler of Choba Community in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, HRH, Eze Raymond Webilor Okocha, had at that time described the prohibition on women sharing in their father’s property as unfair, noting that the wealth of a father is generally for his children.

The monarch explained that the development will give legal backing to communities that allow daughters to share in their father’s property, describing it as a welcome development.

He explained that when a man dies, his children, including the daughters, contribute to his funeral, and it is only right that they all benefit from his property as well.

He said that he had been implementing it in his community before the governor’s assent to the law.

He commended the Rivers State Government for signing the bill into law.

However, he said the rights of women to share in the property is limited to what the father owns and not that of the community.

The Rivers State chapter of the Nigerian Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) also reacted, describing the law as heartwarming. Secretary, Dr Ngozi Anosike, said that women in the state will now be entitled by law to inherit their entitlements,

The association wondered why many cultures did not encourage what could lead to the growth of women in society, and said the coming into force of the law was a new dawn in the state.

Also reacting to the enactment of the law, the running-mate to the governorship candidate of the African Alliance Congress (AAC) in Rivers State, Dr. Ivy West, said the law is long overdue and called on women to henceforth stand up for their rights and challenge any discrimination against them in court.

“The new law is a welcome development, but it has taken a little too long considering the deprivation and ignominy that women have had to suffer on account of a denial of their rights to inheritance,” she added.

She said female children are not second-class citizens and should not be treated like one. “Families should put the judgment into practice, and women should stand up and claim their rights. This new law is backed by a Supreme Court judgment. It is also your right as a woman,” West said.

An Eleme historian, Mr Samuel Onungwe, said the good side of the law is that it has gone beyond native law and customs to legalise that where it so applies, assets such as land, buildings can be issued to female children at the passing of their parent or guardian.

“It behoves the Eleme traditional rulership to domesticate this law such that proper interpretation, apportionment, and application are done to prevent some uncivilized male family members from perpetrating evil when things favour the female more.”