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Most customary law systems in Nigeria have rules which by modern day standards are inherently discriminatory against females. This is a direct result of the system of primogeniture practiced by most of the tribes in Nigeria, whereby lineage is traced through the male line1 The system of primogeniture has resulted in the evolution of customary succession rules which discriminate against female children and widows. Women are also discriminated against in other communal matters. For example, women are not qualified to ascend to hereditary titles or tribal thrones in most Nigerian tribes. In those tribes,2 if the incumbent traditional ruler dies without a male heir, then the title or throne must go to a qualified paternal male relative of the deceased. While women can be conferred with ceremonial chieftaincy titles in some Nigerian tribes, in others3 it is forbidden to give a woman any chieftaincy title. Some Customary Law rules also disentitle women from giving evidence in customary land matters and deprive them of legal personality in such matters. Although these customs are regarded as valid and binding by the majority of persons subject to them, are they necessarily in accord with the positive laws of the modern State of Nigeria? What is the attitude of the Courts to these discriminatory customs? Are the Courts maintaining the Status quo or are they upholding the fundamental human rights of women guaranteed under the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999? If the fundamental rights of women are being enforced by the courts, to what extent have the courts gone presently in adjudicating women’s customary law rights? Are the Courts doing enough? These and other questions shall be examined in this article, against the background of relevant judicial decisions in Nigeria. It is the contention of this article that the trend in these decisions will impact negatively on the fortunes of discriminatory customary law rules in Nigeria. The cases examined in this article are all on Ibo customary law. This is not deliberate. These decisions are the only ones on the subject of this article which emanated from the two highest courts in Nigeria. They are therefore the most authoritative on the principles decided therein. However, most of the principles established in these cases are of country-wide application.

This essay examines the ideas of equality and justice in a federal system. The argument is developed in two major parts, with several sub-parts in between. First, the question and the problem of justice among the federating units is posed. Second, the conditions that conduce to justice is examined. The third is concerned with the problem of equality among the federating units as well as the conditions which are alleged to conduce to it. The federal character requirement as stipulated in chapter Two, Section 14, (3) and (4) of the constitution is analyzed in the light of the demands and imperatives of justice and equality between the units. Section 14 (3) states as follows: