Within the being lacking a will, a once-close society may fall apart and descend right into a violent and sour battle over overdue folks’ property. Siblings at daggers drawn turns what will have to had been a grieving procedure right into a deadly combat for inheritance, with bloodshed marking the sour attempt, writes GODFREY GEORGE
“While our father’s body was still in the mortuary, my younger brother started selling off all his lands,” recounted Jonah Justice, because the target market regarded on in awe.
“Before we could grasp what was happening, some people had come to take over the family house because, according to them, he had sold it.”
Justice, 29, used to be a visitor at a convention for firstborns organised through a non-governmental organisation, Voices of Non violent Switch of Belongings, which champions the will for will-writing amongst younger adults.
As a tender attorney, Justice discovered himself thrust into maturity in advance upcoming his father kicked the bucket when he used to be simply 22.
His more youthful brother, next handiest 19, become a supply of misery and battle in what he had was hoping could be a clean transition in their father’s property.
With handiest the 2 of them left within the society, Jonah had expected that managing their father’s property could be a cooperative and non violent procedure. In lieu, he used to be met with stiff opposition, betrayal and turmoil.
Their mom, Eunice, a retired nursing officer with the Plateau Shape Ministry of Condition, used to be engulfed in sorrow and suffering to deal with the lack of her husband.
But, amid her mourning, she confronted the agonising truth of observing her overdue husband’s possessions being taken over through unfamiliar faces.
Her son had bought the property future they had been in demand with the burial preparations, thus, including to the crushing weight of her agony.
“Since my husband died in 2018 and my son began selling off his assets, I have not seen him,” she stated, her accentuation trembling with ache.
“It’s been a harrowing ordeal, watching my home and my husband’s legacy dissolve before my eyes.”
Eunice recalled a specifically brutal incident when her eldest son, Jonah, faced his more youthful brother.
In reaction, the more youthful son rented thugs to attack Jonah.
“If you look closely at his head, you’ll see a deep machete scar. He came perilously close to losing his life,” she added, tears welling in her seeing.
Eunice expressed her bewilderment at her son’s drastic trade, lamenting, “My husband and I raised him with love and taught him the ways of God,” she lamented.
“He was a bright student, who had just been admitted to study Biology Education at the Federal University, Lafia, Nasarawa State. We were still based in Abuja and had not yet relocated to Lagos. Yet, somehow, he transformed into someone completely unrecognisable.”
Eunice’s anguish used to be palpable as she mirrored at the shattered goals and fractured society bonds that emerged from a duration of profound loss.
Her son, in keeping with her, left house in 2018, retirement her to struggle the nation he had bought the trait to.
Eunice added that his movements left an indelible mark on their lives, turning a year of mourning into a constant cycle of betrayal and melancholy.
“Whenever I remember my husband’s memory, it is tainted by the thoughts and images of my two sons battling over his property. That is so unfair,” the 71-year-old lady stated.
Niger guy kills brother over trait
Jonah’s enjoy may faded into insignificance when homogeneous circumstances that was a massacre are cited.
In March 2024, in what might be described as a gruesome flip of occasions in Niger Shape, a person, Abubakar Sani, used to be accused of fatally attacking his elder brother, Kabiru, over a trait dispute.
The brothers, who downpour from the Tafa Native Executive Department, however live in Gawu Babangida, a society within the Gurara Native Executive Department, had been recognized to have shared an overly shut bond.
Then again, a scorching argument over the possession of a trait on Sunday escalated into violence, important to a miserable tragedy.
In line with eyewitnesses, the war of words reached a violent crescendo when Abubakar, in a presen of unrestrained anger, struck Kabiru with a immense stick.
The attack, the height of long-standing tensions and ultimatum that Abubakar had reportedly directed at his society, ended in a grievous shock.
Kabiru, 34, used to be left subconscious through the trifle away. and used to be pressed for time to the Federal Clinical Centre in Gawu. He used to be pronounced lifeless on arrival through clinical body of workers.
The incident, which despatched shockwaves during the society, left individuals of the society grappling with the loss and a dreadful rift that may by no means be mended.
When Sunday PUNCH reached out for remark, the Shape Police Spokesman, Wasiu Abiodun, showed the arrest of Abubakar Sani, elderly 30, noting that the investigation used to be nonetheless ongoing.
29-year-old overwhelmed to dying over trait
Tuesday, April 13, 2021, left-overs a era 24-year-old Chinaza Azuatalam will perpetually have in mind with a big center.
It used to be in this era that her 29-year-old husband, Chinonso, a hardworking welder, misplaced his past underneath probably the most gruesome and violent instances.
He had begun the era like all alternative, taking part in a meal together with his spouse and two daughters, Munachi and Amara, elderly 3 and one, respectively.
Unaware that the era would result in probably the most frightening means, he activate for his workshop in Okuku, Owerri West LGA of Imo Shape.
Mins upcoming arriving at his workshop, Chinonso won a misery name.
His sister, Chioma, a serving policewoman, used to be allegedly attacking his pregnant spouse and inflicting chaos in his space.
The welder, alarmed and aspiring to give protection to his society, pressed for time house.
What he discovered upon arrival used to be utter chaos. Villagers had been seeking to intrude as Chioma, full of anger, used to be bodily assaulting a closely pregnant Chinaza.
In a determined bid to get to the bottom of the condition, Chinonso started to protest towards his sister’s movements.
Then again, Chioma, leveraging her place and connections, known as on 3 in their siblings to fix her.
Recalling what transpired from her clinic mattress, Chinaza, in a strained accentuation laced with anguish recounted the awful main points of the war of words.
In line with her, when Chioma’s brothers—Chibuzor, and twins, Meshach and Shedrack—arrived on the scene, the condition become calamitous.
She famous that the siblings viciously attacked Chinonso and struck him with a immense stick, inflicting him to faint.
Chibuzor, who all of the future wielded a machete, delivered a deep short to Chinonso’s brow.
Regardless of the villagers’ efforts to help, Chinonso misplaced awareness and used to be pronounced lifeless earlier than achieving the clinic in Umuguma.
Sad and nonetheless reeling from the truth of her loss, Chinaza stated, “I married Chinonso in 2017. He was the breadwinner of our family and the father of our two daughters. I am seven months pregnant, and the pain of losing him, especially in such a violent manner, feels unbearable. It seems like my world has come to a halt.”
Chinaza evident that her husband were entangled in ongoing disputes together with his siblings over inheritance problems.
She alleged that the society’s property had been being contested and Chinonso felt unjustly disadvantaged as the primary son.
This discord, she believes, in the end resulted in his gruesome dying.
“My husband’s maternal uncles had advised him to let his younger brother continue using their late father’s shop and to accept a less favourable share of the inheritance. My husband refused to compromise, and this conflict escalated into violence,” she added.
Chinaza claimed she confronted derogatory remarks from her partner’s mother and used to be mocked for now not bearing a male kid.
She lamented, “They wanted to get rid of my husband and succeeded. My sister-in-law had always threatened, boasting that nothing would happen to her even if she harmed us.”
Chinaza’s plea for justice is determined, and she or he tearfully says, “I want my husband back. I am a housewife, and he provided for us. Now, I don’t know how I will support our children or care for the baby I’m expecting. I need the government’s help. I want justice for my husband and support for my children.”
The grief-stricken widow has additionally unfavourable the theory of staying along with her overdue husband’s society, fearing for her protection.
Dead body’s uncle, Amadi Azuatalam, echoed the society’s turmoil, revealing that the trait dispute were a supply of strife.
“The family has been plagued by trouble since the death of my brother in 2019. It’s deeply painful to see this violence escalate to such an extreme,” he stated.
A society chief, Martin Daniel, expressed agony over the incident and reassured that the society used to be dedicated to running with government to revive form.
“The situation is regrettable. We are collaborating with the police to ensure no further breakdown of law and order,” he mentioned.
In the meantime, the environment police spokesman, Orlando Ikeokwu, stated two suspects, together with the policewoman, were arrested.
Daughters execute father over trait
In February 2021, two sisters in Enugu had been sentenced to dying through the Top Courtroom in Asaba for orchestrating the brutal homicide in their folks in a bid to enter the property.
The case, which captivated nation consideration, highlighted the depths of greed and familial betrayal.
In line with stories, their purpose used to be pushed through a need to clutch keep an eye on of the society’s wealth and reside a past of luxurious, which they felt used to be unjustly denied them.
In any other stunning revelation the similar 12 months from the Chanchaga section of Minna, Niger Shape, Abubakar Buba, 25, confessed to the deadly homicide of his father, Mohammed Buba, elderly 52.
The younger guy’s purpose used to be chillingly easy—he wished to inherit his father’s trait and paid N100,000 to Aliyu Muhammed, 26, to execute him.
The homicide of Mohammed, many stated, is a stark reminder of ways familial bonds might be shattered through avarice and the pursuit of wealth.
The will for wills
Talking at the want for wills, a senior attorney, Mrs Titilola Akinlawon, all over a nation lecture on the St. Agnes Catholic Church, Maryland, Lagos, and Catholic Legal professionals Affiliation, stated dying is inevitable and that steps will have to be taken to assure {that a} will is penned indisposed
Talking at the name, ‘Speaking From the Grave’, she queried, “What then happens to all the assets we have laboured tirelessly to acquire over the years? Who inherits the said assets? Would it be your spouse and children, as is basically the desire of most people? Or would it be your other close relatives e.g, your siblings, that would take all your assets to the detriment of your beloved spouse and your treasured children? Or even worse still, would it be the distant relatives who did not “encourage or assist you in any way” future you had been labouring to obtain those property?”
Talking additional, she stated, “You can decide to speak from the grave as to who inherits your hard-earned assets and who takes care of your beloved children. You just might be able to control what happens after you, by speaking from the grave.”
Why it’s impressive
The SAN famous that it used to be maximum impressive to talk from the grave to build inclinations of 1’s property to snatch impact on or upcoming dying.
“The testator has the self rule to do away with his trait in the way in which he likes and no person can alter his will.
“On the subject of Igboidu Vs Igboidu 1999 1 NWLR (Pt 585) 27, the Courtroom of Enchantment held {that a} testator’s needs should be successful.
“A will will have to be allowed to talk in the way in which made and should now not be changed through any person or Courtroom to fit an imaginary goal of the testator
“It’s also impressive to talk from the grave so to permit dead body to nominate executors or alternative individuals who he believes are competent to supremacy his property.
“Talking from the grave would additionally permit dead body to nominate a mother or father(s) for his youngsters who’re minors.
“This may additionally permit dead body to nominate a decent individual to workout all of the powers of dead body.
“The deceased would be able to revoke or alter the way he wants his assets or children to be dealt with,” she stated.
Figuring out wills and their prison framework
A will is a the most important prison record that specifies how an individual’s trait will have to be disbursed upcoming their dying.
In line with Osborn’s Concise Legislation Dictionary, a will is a “disposition by which the person making it provides for the distribution or administration of his property after his death.”
It’s revocable, which means the testator (individual making the desire) can trade or prevent the desire at any year earlier than their dying.
A will may also be described as a declaration made in compliance with statutory formalities, outlining how the testator desires their affairs treated upon or upcoming their dying.
Necessarily, a will is a proper voice of intent in regards to the distribution of trait and is handiest efficient upon the testator’s dying. Till next, it left-overs a declaration of goal and is topic to switch or revocation.
Traditionally, the concept that of wills in England can also be traced again to the duration following the Norman Conquest of 1066.
Right through this year, people had been granted the facility to do away with their trait via wills.
When Nigeria used to be a British colony, it followed many English prison rules, together with the ones indistinguishable to wills.
The combination of English legislation into Nigerian prison apply started with numerous ordinances, creation with Ordinance Deny. 3 of 1863.
In line with Division 32 of the Interpretation Employment 1964, Nigerian legislation included English Familiar Legislation, doctrines of Fairness, and statutes of common software that had been in power in England as of January 1, 1900.
This integrated the Wills Employment of 1837, which governs the distribution of estates in Nigeria.
In Nigeria, a number of statutes keep an eye on the founding and management of wills. The Wills Employment of 1837 applies to the northern and a few jap states, future the Wills Modification Employment of 1852 extends to portions of the western states.
The Wills Regulations of the Western Pocket 1958 preserve the previous Western Pocket, together with Edo and Delta States.
The Wills Legislation Cap W2 of Lagos Shape 2004 governs Lagos Shape, and the Armed Forces Employment Deny. 105 of 1993 addresses the wills of army body of workers.
Moreover, the Top Courtroom of Lagos Shape (Civil Process) Regulations (2004) serve procedural pointers.
Some other prison practitioner, Mr Kelechi Uzoma, famous {that a} will has two basic traits.
“First, it’s ambulatory, which means it handiest takes impact upon the dying of the testator. Quality disposed of earlier than dying can’t be suffering from the desire, regardless that trait received upcoming the desire’s founding can also be integrated in its phrases.
“Second, a will is always revocable, meaning the testator can alter or revoke it at any time before death, provided they follow the appropriate legal procedures,” he stated.
In most cases, Uzoma famous, any person can build a will, however there are particular exceptions. Babies or youngsters can not build a legitimate will, as they’re deemed to dearth the capability to go into into pledges.
“Then again, minors in army carrier might be able to build a privileged will. Individuals of unsound thoughts additionally can not assemble a legitimate will. The testator should possess a pitch thoughts and reminiscence to grasp the character of the business.
A will made all over a lucid presen earlier than changing into mentally incapacitated left-overs legitimate, and there’s a presumption of sanity on the year of the desire’s founding.
“Casual or illiterate people can build a legitimate will, however spare support should be taken to assure that the desire is performed as it should be.
“For illiterate individuals, the desire should be learn and defined to them in a language they perceive earlier than they affix their thumb impact within the presence of eyewitnesses. For casual people, the execution of the desire should be treated moderately to forbid fraud.
“A will is also invalid if it is made under fraud or coercion,” he stated.
Traditionally, in keeping with a number of stories, married ladies have restricted testamentary capability underneath Division 8 of the Wills Employment of 1837.
Then again, this has been modified through next statutes, such because the Married Girls Quality Employment 1882 and the Married Girls Quality Employment 1893.
Those statutes, together with trendy rules just like the Wills Legislation of 1958 and Lagos Shape’s Wills Legislation, have got rid of restrictions at the testamentary capability of married ladies.
Privileged wills are exceptions to the usual necessities for capability and mode.
The Armed Forces Employment Cap (A20), for example, lets in army body of workers to build legitimate wills with much less rituality.
In a similar way, sure provisions within the Wills Legislation appropriate in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Edo, and Delta States allow infantrymen and sailors to build wills underneath much less stringent necessities.
Loss of life and not using a will
When an individual dies and not using a will, referred to as death intestate, the senior attorney, Akinlawon, famous that the distribution in their property rely on their marital situation and appropriate rules.
“Beneath statutory legislation, such because the Management of Estates Legislation in Lagos, the property is sent in line with particular regulations.
“For example, if a deceased individual leaves a partner and kids, the partner receives non-public chattels and a portion of the actual property, with the extra taking to the youngsters. If there aren’t any youngsters, the partner receives a bigger proportion of the property.
“Against this, normal legislation governs the distribution of estates in line with native traditions. As an example, underneath Yoruba normal legislation, the property generally passes to the male family of dead body.
“In Benin normal legislation, the eldest son inherits dead body’s trait, future the spouse is also departed with not anything. In Igbo land, the eldest son inherits the trait, with alternative family performing as trustees if there aren’t any youngsters.
“For the ones married underneath normal legislation, the distribution of the property ceaselessly favours male family, and the widow won’t inherit any trait.
“In Northern Nigeria, indigenous native laws and Islamic law influence the distribution of the estate. Under Islamic law, the estate should primarily support those whom the deceased was obliged to support during their lifetime,” she stated.
Why Nigerians are unwilling to put in writing wills
A mentor of sociology on the College of Port Harcourt, River Shape, Ikechukwu Ifeanacho, stated the reluctance of many Nigerians to draft a will earlier than their dying is influenced through a fancy interaction of sociological and mental elements that replicate deep-seated cultural values and private fears.
“Culturally, discussing dying or making plans for it’s ceaselessly thought to be taboo in Nigeria. The usual trust that talking about dying may ask over agony or sprint one’s dying deters many from addressing their mortality via prison method like writing a will.
“This perception of tempting fate contributes significantly to the avoidance of will-making. Additionally, religious beliefs play a pivotal role. In some deeply religious communities, there is a view that preparing a will signals a lack of faith in divine provision. Many believe that entrusting their family’s well-being to God is sufficient and that planning for inheritance might undermine their trust in divine care,” he stated.
A senior trainer on the Segment of Political Science, College of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu, Dr Ugwueze Ikechukwu, famous that society dynamics in Nigeria additional complicate the problem of will writing.
He stated, “Nigerian population is characterized through prolonged society networks the place trait and wealth are ceaselessly shared amongst a large society circle.
“This communal manner can build people i’m not sure to formalise their needs via a will, as it is going to disrupt present society cohesion or expectancies.
“In traditional patriarchal societies, male heads of households may also avoid creating a will to retain control over family assets until their death. They might believe that making a will could undermine their authority or lead to conflict among potential heirs, thus maintaining the status quo,” he stated.
He additionally famous that the dearth of prison consciousness is any other important barrier.
The trainer additional stated psychologically, the worry of confronting mortality performs a the most important function.
Some other senior trainer, Segment of Psychology, UNN, Enugu, Dr Johnbosco Chukwuorji, famous that many people attempt with accepting their very own dying, and making a will forces them to confront the uncomfortable truth.
He stated, “This denial or avoidance of dying ceaselessly leads to procrastination or outright avoidance of will preparation. Emotional misery and concern of inflicting society battle additionally give a contribution to the reluctance.
“The process of writing a will might lead to disputes among family members, especially if the distribution of assets is seen as unfair.”
He added that the perceived futility of constructing a will may also be an element.
Some people, in keeping with him, might view writing a will as pointless, believing that their dying is a independent worry.
“This sense of urgency to address the matter later often leads to procrastination,” he added.