was a common
form of marriage under the three cultures, which unfortunately, is still practiced in
some rural communities especially in
the Hausa culture in the northern state of Nigeria. Under
the practices a girl from birth was betrothed to a man to whom she
will be formally married to between the ages of eight and ten. According
to Sabbatou (1998) in answer to a question on the practice of
child marriage set
father answered this, this practice existed before I was born and there
is no use complaining about it my
daughter listen to me, I married your mother at the
same age.
The
Nigeria legal system. The position pluralism operates in Nigeria leasing confusion and generating controversy . It has
left a gap that permits choice of
laws. The interests of the women are
particularly affected by the operation of
multiple legal systems governing
family law in Nigeria.
Depending on the
place of residence, type of marriage,
ethnic group, or religion, a woman right and responsibility to marriage inheritance,
ownership and widowhood practical may be governed by one of the systems under discussion boundaries of the three family law systems are complex
and the
customary law are not united. The
multiplicity of the applicable legal system
has been a problem for the courts that faced with
determining not only the problem of law
that is applicable, but
which of the several customary laws is applicable.
There and further complications because
the federal system of government
that operates in Nigerian
places customary law with
the legislative competence of
the states but retain
federal jurisdiction over
statutory marriage in
1999 constitution of the federal
republic of Nigeria is the supreme law
of the land with various provisions that protect the right of all citizen from discrimination and providers citizens with rights to freedom from
discrimination based on community, place of origin, ethnic group, sex, religion or political
option.
The
court system where justice is depended and the advocates of equity and justice,
and equality before the law bare not in all cases portaged themselves to mean
this. There
are occasions when the courts shifted to the side of customs in the decision in
issues of marriage, inheritance of
widowhood disregarding the provisions of the statutes, and it decision
resulted in inflecting violence on the woman
The
roles played by the regular courts have not been consistent
The
particular features in the Nigerian legal system is the attitude of the
people most disputes involving family law are
regarded as promote when consisted in
public, such despites are usually take
outsides the formal court system, and decided it the village or local administrative level, an example is the native
courts of the Umuadas in Igbo Land, at such level,
precedence is given to the customary law
of the people it includes.
·
High
cost of the filing papers
·
Bureaucracy in the formal courts
·
High
legal fees for counsel and
·
Long
and complex procedure of formal courts.
·
Agenda
for change