Gender, Law, and Social Practice in Post-2014 Yoruba Inheritance: Ten Years after Ukeje V Ukeje

Abstract

In 2014, the Supreme Court of Nigeria in Ukeje v Ukeje declared customary practices excluding female children from inheriting land unconstitutional. This article tests whether Ukeje changed social practice in Yoruba communities in Southwest Nigeria ten years later. Based on doctrinal analysis of 12 inheritance cases and 58 semi-structured interviews conducted between 2015 and 2025 in Oyo, Ogun, and Lagos States, the article finds a significant compliance gap. While daughters won 75% of court cases citing Ukeje, 81% of women interviewed still received no land. Families adapted through ‘cash compensation’ and strategic delay by the Olori Ebi. The article argues that Ukeje created paper rights without enforcement mechanisms. It concludes that constitutional litigation must be paired with institutional reform, including mandatory female representation in family councils and criminal penalties for trustees who exclude daughters.