Right of Inheritance of Igbo Women within the Context of Igwebuike Philosophy

Abstract

Rights or human rights are known to be legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; which means that rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people, according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical theory. On the other hand, inheritance is the common term used for property or any possession; that property comes to an individual mostly through his or her parents.  It also indicates something that is bequeathed to a subsequent generation by an individual or by society. Governments in many parts of the world have established laws guiding the rights of man. For example, the International Bill of Rights and other international legal instruments, including the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999. These have been made to truly liberate every human being by the recognition of the equality and inalienable rights of all persons on the face of the earth as the foundation for peace, justice and freedom. Even when the customary law has given the female child its right of inheritance, they are still being denied access to this justice and freedom. This paper, therefore, using the critical and analytical methods creates more awareness of the above fact and proposes the importance of maximizing the potentials of everyone, which is where the strength of the culture lies following the principles of Igwebuike.