Anambra State Announces that Denial of Female Inheritance is a Crime, Begins Crackdown

• Anambra Attorney General Tobe Nweke SAN wrote to the Nigerian Police directing them to investigate complaints from women denied property inheritance
• The AG's letter, signed personally and shared with journalists on Monday, September 26, 2026, cited a specific law to back the prosecution push
• Denying women and girls the right to inherit property is a criminal offence in Anambra State, punishable with up to 4 years imprisonment

Anambra State's Attorney General, Tobe Nweke SAN, has taken formal steps to prosecute individuals who deny women and girls the right to inherit property, directing the Nigerian Police to investigate such complaints and forward case files to his office.

The move was revealed in a letter written personally by the Attorney General and addressed to the Nigerian Police. Journalists received copies of the letter on Monday, September 26, 2026, and the Anambra State Media announced it publicly via X on September 29, 2026.

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Why denial of female inheritance is now a crime

The letter cited Section 22 of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law, 2017 of Anambra State as the legal basis for prosecution. Under that provision, withholding inheritance rights from women or girls solely on account of their gender constitutes a criminal act, carrying a punishment of up to four years in prison.

Nweke described the practice as "obnoxious," signalling a firm stance from the state government against what has long been a common but largely unchallenged cultural tradition in many parts of south-east Nigeria.

Police asked to transmit cases for prosecution

The Attorney General's letter instructed the Nigerian Police to receive complaints from affected women, carry out investigations, and transmit the completed case files directly to his office for prosecution.

This formal directive effectively creates a clear legal pathway for women who have previously had little recourse against relatives or community members who excluded them from family property.

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The announcement marks one of the most direct interventions by Anambra's legal authority on the issue of female inheritance, bringing criminal law to bear on a practice rooted in customary norms.

See the X post below:

Obi releases details of $150M funds left in Anambra

Legit.ng earlier reported that Peter Obi, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, has pushed back against claims by the Anambra State Government that his administration left behind external debt obligations of $123.77 million, saying the funds he kept in the state more than covered any such figure.

Source: Legit.ng