16 Days Activism: Group Sensitises Rivers Women on Rights to Family Inheritance 

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt 

A Non Governmental Organisation under the aegis of Lokiaka Community Development Centre has sensitised Rivers State women on rights to inherit family property.

The Executive Director of Lokiaka, Mrs. Martha Agbani who addressed the over 300 women who gathered at Bori, headquarters of Khana Local Governments Area of Rivers State, yesterday, said the sensitisation is part of activities to mark the 16 Days Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. 

Agbani told the women from the four LGAs of Ogoniland (Eleme, Gokana, Khana and Tai) that they should start demanding for their rights to property in their father’s, drawing their attention to the recently passed law of the State which gave girl child/ women rights to family inheritance.

It would be the immediate past Governor of the State, Nyesom Wike had assented into law the Rivers State Prohibition of the Curtailment of Women’s Right to Share in Family Property Law No. 2 of 2022. 

Signing the bill into law, Wike said he couldn’t comprehend why it is considered a taboo in many parts of the state for female children to share in their family inheritance.

“Because you are a girl, you are a woman, you are not entitled to inherit what belongs to your father. It is not you who decides 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.”

The former governor frown at how family relatives would deny their nieces, sisters, wives and daughters inheritance because they did not come into this world as male child.

Speaking with THISDAY at the programme, Agbani said about two years after the bill was assented into law, women in parts of Ogoni are still denied rights to their family inheritance.

She said “If you go to Customary Courts, especially the Ogoni Customary Courts, even down to Customary Appeal Court, most of the cases they have there are land cases. Cases that have to do with spousal denial, widowhood issues that affect them and you see women losing their inheritance right.

“Also in the family because they are women, the customary rights or practices doesn’t allow the woman  to own landed property. So this is a challenge and it is also causing a lot of problems.

We also see beyond this that women who are within the reproductive age, stress themselves so much to get male child/children that is because if you don’t have male child you can’t inherit property or land.”

Agbani expressed worries how some women have died while battling to get their rightful inheritance. 

She explained that “Because we want to stop that, so we needed to explore, to really make them understand this law, make them know their rights, how to apply their rights, know the issues as it affects them and help them to align to open discussions. This is a capacity building that we set up for the women and it has been an exciting experience.”

The ED however, called on the State government to enforce the already signed law so as to give women free rights to family inheritance.

“So the government on their own needs to carry out very strategic sensitisation, create that awareness of the existence of these laws and also enforce it. Make the law enforceable that people know the state laws supersede the customary laws or local laws.”

A female activists and legal consultant, Okorite Yibo noted the need for the State to sensitise woman in the state on how to demand for their rights in their various families.

Mrs. Yibo said “Government need to sensitise the women, but the onus lies on us as a people. It is not just the government, as organisation, media, everyone need to move a step to get this sensitisation, so as to help women build confidence and fight for their right.

She regretted that inspite of the law which was passed in 2022, women are still been disinherited “and all kinds of things going on”. 

A participant at the programme,  Mrs Charity Wiido, thanked the organisation for the sensitisation, saying that widows in her community in Khana are most affected in the disinheritance from the family properties.

“They have taught us so many things that women don’t understand. Some of them have not gotten the knowledge of what is happening especially the widows. Like the tradition of the Ogoni’s, women that are advised by parents not marry, when it is time to inherit their father’s property, the brothers will fight that they are just a woman.

“Many things are happening now in Ogoniland, you see brothers and sisters fighting over your husband’s property and you will be moving around. Some of the women don’t have money to go to court, some don’t have anybody. But from the teaching of today, they have gotten the idea and I think they will make  a move, like the widow they have gotten the idea”. 

She assured to sensitise women at her Babbe community on the need for women to demand for their rights in the father’s and husband’s family.

A cross section of the Ogoni women sensitised on Rights to inheritance of family property, organised by Lokiaka Community Development Centre, in Khana LGA, Rivers State.