SUCCESSION RIGHT OF THE CHILD BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK: AN APPRAISAL OF THE NIGERIAN LAW ON LEGITIMIZATION AND THE ISLAMIC LAW

Abstract

Succession is a common social challenge. Different people have different approach to it. Pluralism is a feature of Nigerian Legal system due to the presence of people of diverse culture, religion and language. Inheritance of a child born out of wedlock is especially knotty. The law had denied him the right to inherit from his putative father until 1979 when the Nigeria Constitution proscribed discrimination against any Nigerian on the basis of the circumstances of their birth. The same provision is preserved in the 1999 Constitution. The effect is that once the putative father acknowledges the child he is entitled to succeed to his father’s estate after his demise. Shari’ah, the Islamic law, is another system of law in Nigeria which is applicable to the Muslims. Most Muslim jurists hold the opinion that a child born out of wedlock can only inherit from his mother. This opinion is not consensual though. A significant minority has held that the child can inherit from his biological father after acknowledgement. Views of the two schools of thought in this matter were examined in this paper. It was discovered that the opinion that the child born out of wedlock can inherit both parents after legitimation through acknowledgement is preponderant and in tandem with the provision of the Nigerian Constitution and natural justice.