The Lagos High Court in Ikeja, presided over by Hon. Justice Dorcas T. Olatokun, made this pronouncement in a case between a couple, Mr. Pius Aina and his wife, Mrs. Aina, over a property at FESTAC Town, Lagos. The property was acquired by the husband while he worked with the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) in the early 1980s.

Succinctly put, Mr. Pius Aina and his wife had been married for 35 years. They lived in the FESTAC property with their three children for more than thirty years. After his retirement in 2018, Mr. Aina sold the property for N20 million and relocated to his hometown in Ondo State. However, his wife, Mrs. Aina, challenged the sale, claiming that as his wife and joint owner, the husband could not sell the property without her consent. Therefore, she sued her husband, asking the court to void the sale. The purported buyer of the property and the two other defendants, who were the agents that facilitated the purported sale, were also joined as defendants in the suit.

In her claim before the court, Mrs. Aina alleged that she jointly owned the house with her husband. She further stated that after her husband’s retirement on July 4, 2001, his employer, the FHA, gave him a right of first refusal to purchase the property at a price of N400,000. She alleged that she contributed N200,000 to purchase the property, while her husband contributed the balance of N200,000. She also alleged that she had been making other direct and indirect contributions as a wife to the marital property, entitling her to a share in the sale of the property.

However, in his defense, Mr. Aina alleged that the property is solely his own property as per the private contract between him and the FHA. He argued that the wife is not a party to the contract and therefore cannot challenge his right to transfer his property to other persons as he deems fit. He further alleged that the statutory marriage between him and Mrs.

Aina was contracted in 2001 during the subsistence of a valid customary marriage between him and his first wife. He claims that he consulted both wives prior to his decision to sell the house and retire back to his hometown in Ondo State, to which they both consented. He alleged that in equity and good conscience, after selling his house, he purchased a three-bedroom flat residential apartment for Mrs. Aina and her children at Block 147, Flat 2, Amuwo Odofin Low-Cost Housing Estate, Mile 2, Lagos, which she graciously accepted.

While setting aside the sale of the property, Hon Justice Olatokun held that there exists a valid marriage between Mr. Aina and Mrs. Aina, and both had made financial contributions to the marriage and the purchase of the property.

Therefore, both are joint owners of the property in equity. The court further held as follows: “Where joint ownership of property exists, it means that each party has an equal proprietary right of ownership in the said land, notwithstanding the weight of contribution made by each party, and can jointly exercise such right in respect of the property. The position of the law is settled that where a property is jointly owned, the consent of the other is required before disposing of the property.”

The judgment of the Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja is commendable. Not only is it in consonance with the earlier landmark decisions of the Nigerian courts, especially the case of Okere V Akaluka  (2014), where the court held that it would be unconscionable to deprive a woman and her children of the right to a property to which she contributed substantially regarding its acquisition and development, but the judgment is also consistent with domestic and international human rights instruments and covenants.

We equally commend Mrs. Aina for gallantly fighting her case up to the law court. There is no doubt that she has charted an unprecedented course in the struggle for women’s human rights in Nigeria. Men and women are complementary genders. Women are not objects of pleasure for men or properties to be used however men please. Indeed, women have the same intrinsic worth as men.

However, beyond the euphoria of the current judgment of the Lagos High Court, the impediments to the enforcement of the egregious women’s inheritance laws that abound in different states of the federation should be removed to pave the way for their efficacious and effective enforcement in favour of Nigerian women.

Governments, NGOs, members of civil society, and other stakeholders should rally to the assistance of oppressed women and widows who lack access to justice. Traditional rulers and community leaders should embark on effective mass enlightenment on the importance of upholding women’s inheritance rights in their rural communities. Any custom that seeks to treat women as inferior to men or treats women as the properties of their husbands should not stand the test of civilized time, in line with the judgments of the Nigerian Supreme Court in Julie Nezianya and others V Anthony Okagbue, Nzekwu V Nzekwu, and Mojekwu V Mojekwu.

There is nothing more morally reprehensible than treating women with contempt and denying them the right of inheritance and the right to jointly own property with their husbands. Joint ownership of property encourages shared decision-making between spouses. It allows both partners to have a say in matters related to the property, including maintenance, renovations, and financial decisions. This promotes a sense of partnership and equality within the marriage.