Anambra Moves To Prosecute Those Denying Women Property Inheritance

The Anambra State Government has directed the Nigeria Police Force to investigate cases involving the denial of women and girls the right to inherit property and forward the case files to the state Attorney-General’s Office for prosecution.

The Attorney-General of Anambra State, Tobechukwu Nweke, SAN, disclosed this in a letter addressed to the Nigeria Police Force and signed by him and made available to journalists on Tuesday.

Nweke said the move was aimed at tackling cases where girls and women were prevented from inheriting properties belonging to their parents on the basis of customs and traditional practices.

According to him, the discriminatory practice persists in some communities despite several Supreme Court decisions declaring customs that prevent females from inheriting property unconstitutional and illegal.

The Attorney-General further stated that denying women and girls their inheritance rights because of their gender constitutes an offence under Section 22 of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law, 2017 of Anambra State.

He said offenders under the law could face up to four years’ imprisonment.

In the letter, Nweke directed the police to thoroughly investigate all reported cases of gender-based disinheritance and forward the relevant case files to his ministry for further legal action.

“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,” the letter stated.

Nweke also announced the designation of the Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Unit of the ministry to prosecute offenders involved in the practice.

“To effectively combat this practice, this Ministry has designated the Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Unit to handle the prosecution of offenders under the above-mentioned law, alongside other forms of domestic violence and sexual offences,” he said.