The Court of Appeal in Kano has ruled that the daughter of the late Major Mohammed Arogun Adeniyi, Nike, and her Christian mother must share the deceased’s inheritance with the children of his other two widows, who are Muslims.
Nike reportedly received ₦23,588,000 in gratuity and other entitlements but has refused to share it with her agnate siblings, citing her mother’s civil marriage.
Justice Muhammed Lawal Shuaibu ruled that the estate of a Muslim who married a Christian under the Marriage Act is governed by Islamic Law.
The Court of Appeal, in Appeal No: CA/IL/SH/1/2022, has set aside the judgment of the Sharia Court of Appeal of Kwara State sitting at Ilorin, in Appeal No: KWS/SCA/CV/AP/IL/14/2022, delivered on 3rd August 2022, wherein it set aside the earlier ruling of the Upper Area Court I, Ilorin.
Major Mohammed Arogun Adeniyi, a Muslim, died on October 18, 2020 at the Nigerian Army Barracks, Kainji, Niger State, and was buried according to Islamic rites.
He was survived by his aged parents, the appellants, and other heirs, and he left inheritable estates.
While the deceased was married to Maimuna Mohammed and Inna Fatima Mohammed, the 1st and 2nd appellants respectively, the 2nd respondent, Evangelist (Mrs.) Olabisi Mohammed was married to the deceased under the Marriage Act.
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Upon his demise, the Nigerian Army paid the 1st respondent, Nike Mohammed, the deceased’s first daughter and next of kin in the records of the Nigerian Army, a sum of ₦23,588,000 as the deceased’s emoluments, insurance, gratuity and other entitlements.
It was gathered that Nike, the next of kin of the late Major, was not willing to share the ₦23,588,000 gratuity and other entitlements of the deceased officer paid into her FCMB account, along with the properties of the deceased with the other entitled heirs.
Consequently, the appellants initiated an action at the trial of the Upper Area Court against her.
The mother, Evangelist (Mrs.) Olabisi Mohammed was later joined as a co-defendant in the suit at her instance.
Upon being joined in the proceedings as the 2nd defendant, Evangelist (Mrs.) Olabisi Mohammed challenged the jurisdiction of the Upper Area Court to determine the suit, contending that since the deceased had married her under the Marriage Act, his estate was inheritable only by her and the children she bore him, to the exclusion of the deceased’s aged parents and the appellants, under the Administration of Estates Law of Kwara State. In other words, the trial Upper Area Court lacked jurisdiction to hear and determine the appellants’ case, and Islamic Law was not applicable to the estate.
In his ruling, the trial Upper Area Court judge dismissed the objection and assumed jurisdiction to hear and determine the matter under Islamic Law.
Aggrieved by the ruling of the Upper Area Court, Nike Mohammed and her mother appealed to the Sharia Court of Appeal of Kwara State, Ilorin, which reversed and set aside the ruling of the trial Upper Area Court, contending that it is the Administration of Estates Law of Kwara State, and not Islamic Law, that applies to the estate of the late Major, a Muslim, merely because the said military personnel married a Christian under the Marriage Act.
Not satisfied with the said decision, the Appellants challenged the same before the Court of Appeal and the Court in its judgment considered a very pivotal question: what is the appropriate law to be applied in the distribution of the estate of a person who died as a Muslim who married a Christian under the Marriage Act?
Agreeing with the submissions of Tajudeen Oladoja, SAN, learned senior counsel to the appellants, the Court of Appeal, in a unanimous judgment delivered by Justices Muhammed Lawal Shuaibu, Abubakar M. lamido and Ahmed R. Mohammed set aside the judgment of the Sharia Court of Appeal of Kwara State, Ilorin, delivered on the 3rd day of August 2020 and restored the earlier decision of the trial Upper Area Court No. 1, Ilorin, assuming jurisdiction to distribute the estates of late Major Mohammed Arogun Adeniyi in accordance with Islamic Law.
The Court of Appeal held that the administration of the estate of a person who lived and died as a Muslim but married to a Christian under the Marriage Act is governed by Islamic Law.
