This is one of the most common cases in Nigeria and the most litigated.
A man with 4 wives dies intestate without a will.
Let’s assess it properly under Nigerian law,
LEGAL ASSESSMENT
In Nigeria, death without a will does not mean the family automatically owns the property.
The law steps in.
What law will apply?-Nigeria runs 4 systems at once:
Statutory Law:
Administration of Estates Act Cap A3 federal and Administration of Estates Laws of States.
Customary Law:
Law of his ethnic group – Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa- Fulani, etc.
Islamic Law:
If he was a Muslim in the North, Fara’id applies.
Constitution:
Overrides any custom that is
discriminatory.
Because he had 4 wives, he was not married under the Marriage Act.
The Marriage Act is strictly monogamous.
A 4-wife marriage can only be valid under Customary Law or Islamic Law.
Therefore the Probate Registry will apply Customary Law to his estate, but tested against the Constitution.
The estate does not belong to the children yet
Under FCT law, when you die intestate, your estate vests first in the Chief Judge of FCT as a custodian, not in your family. No one can legally sell, share or manage bank accounts, land, cars until the High Court Probate Registry grants Letters of Administration.
Who can apply to manage?
There is a statutory order of priority:
Surviving spouse(s) , Children or their issue
Parents, then siblings etc.
In a polygamous home, this is where fight starts. Any of the 4 wives and any child can apply.
The court will usually require joint administration – e.g. the first son plus one or two of the other wives/children as co-administrators to balance interests.
Being first son alone does NOT give automatic right to be sole administrator.
Applying this in Abuja requires: death certificate, inventory of all assets, IDs of administrators, sureties, and 21 days newspaper publication for objections.
How will assets actually be shared?
It depends on his tribe, but with constitutional limits:
If Yoruba: Two methods are recognized: Idi-Igi (per stirpes): Property is divided into 4 equal branches – one for each wife. Then children of each wife share their mother’s branch. So if Wife 1 has 1 child and Wife 4 has 6 children, that 1 child still gets a full 1/4, while the 6 share 1/4. This was the old custom.
Ori-Ojori (per capita): All children share equally regardless of mother.
Courts today prefer Ori-Ojori because Idi-Igi is often unjust.
If Igbo: Traditionally, eldest son (Diokpara) inherits the father’s Obi/ancestral house, and is custodian. Other property shared among sons. Daughters historically got nothing.
This custom is now VOID. Supreme Court in Ukeje v. Ukeje (2014) and Mojekwu v. Mojekwu held that Igbo custom excluding female children violates Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution on non-discrimination. Daughters share equally.
If Muslim / Hausa-Fulani: Sharia fixed shares apply. Wives share 1/8 if there are children, sons get twice daughters share.
Critical legal points this scenario:
Wives do not inherit under pure customary law , they have right to residence in matrimonial home and maintenance, not ownership.
But under FCT statutory provision, courts now often give widows a share in the interest of justice.
All children, male and female, born in or outside wedlock, share equally under statutory influence.
First son is a trustee, not owner.
The Administration (Real Estate) Act says he holds land for administration purposes only.
If he sells or dissipates it without court approval, it is intermeddling – a criminal offence and ground for removal.
Minor children’s share must be held in trust until 18 or 21.
MORAL ASSESSMENT IN NIGERIAN CONTEXT
The model you described – “assets be managed by the children judging from first son to least offspring- is what many families do, but morally and legally it fails in modern Nigeria.
Why it is morally risky:
It creates seniority dictatorship:
First son as automatic manager turns other siblings and mothers into subjects.
In a 4-wife home with different ages, economic powers and education, this breeds oppression.
The youngest child today could be 2 years old – he cannot defend his interest.
It punishes women twice:
The 4 widows did not just birth children; they contributed labour, trading, farming to acquire those assets.
Customary law that says they get nothing but roof is morally offensive to many Nigerians today.
Morally, the Abuja reality expects provision for widows.
It violates fiduciary morality:
In our culture, Oga family means responsibility, not enjoyment.
Morally, a first son is expected to be Diokpa – protector. When he becomes de facto owner, using rent, selling land without accounting, he breaches both custom’s moral intent and statutory duty.
It fuels family breakdown: Polygamous intestacy is the number one cause of protracted family litigation in FCT High Court.
Houses are abandoned, bank accounts frozen for years.
What is morally right in Nigerian context:
Joint management: At least 2-3 administrators from different branches – e.g., first son + son from youngest wife and eldest daughter.
Transparency.
Inventory and family meeting (Id meeting): Document all assets, debts, funeral costs first. Share the list.
Protect the vulnerable: Minor children’s school fees, widows’ accommodation must come before sharing.
Equal dignity of branches: Whether 1 child or 7 children per wife, every child is a child. Ori-Ojori is more morally defensible today.
Avoid self-help: No child should enter deceased’s house to pack properties before Letters of Administration. That is both immoral and illegal.
Practical advice
Go to Probate Registry, FCT High Court, Maitama. Apply for Letters.
. Do not allow first son to start allocating land alone.
Open a joint estate account.
If there is ancestral land, that portion will still follow customary law , but improved houses, bank money, business, cars in Abuja will be distributed more equally.
IGALA TRIBE OF KOGI STATE (case study )
For Igala in Kogi State, the case is very specific. Igala is not Igbo and not Yoruba.
LEGAL POSITION UNDER IGALA CUSTOMARY LAW
Igala law is well documented in ABU Zaria research on Igala land.
What Igala custom says about land/property
Under pure Igala custom, individual ownership of land is foreign.
Land is owned by the community or the extended family.
The family head is not owner, he is manager.
Thesis findings: It is customary law among the Igalas that on the death of a founder of a family, the eldest surviving child (if any) succeeds to the headship of the family.
That head does not act alone:
It is the responsibility of the family head to see to the management of the family land.
He acts in consultation with the principal members of the family and He allocates and collects tributes and all proceeds arising from the management of the communal land.
Important: Legal research classifies Igalas among tribes that do not practice strict primogeniture. “For instance, the Yorubas, Igalas, Itsekiri and Agbors do not practice the primogeniture customary rule of succession
What does that mean? Unlike Benin where eldest son inherits everything, Igala eldest succeeds to headship not sole ownership.
How it applies to this scenario – man with 4 wives, died in Abuja but Igala
Since he died in FCT, you will go to High Court of FCT Probate Registry, but the Court will apply Kogi Igala custom to his customary assets (family house in Idah/Ankpa/Dekina, farmland) and statutory law to his acquired assets in Abuja (bank accounts, personal house bought by him, cars, business).
The hierarchy in Igala practice:
Estate does not vest in first son.
It vests in Chief Judge of FCT until Letters of Administration are granted. Any son who starts sharing before grant is an inter -meddler.
Wives: Under Igala custom, wives do not inherit their husband’s land.
They have right of residence and right to be maintained from the estate, and to farm family land to feed their children.
They are not property, but not heirs.
Children: All children are family members. Private property acquired by the deceased himself will devolve upon his children as family property.
In old Igala custom, male children were preferred for land, female children got movable property, marriage support. That part is now illegal.
Supreme Court in Ukeje v Ukeje (2014) voided any custom that excludes daughters. Since 1999 Constitution Section 42 overrides.
So in Kogi Customary Court of Appeal today, daughters share equally.
First son to last child management what law allows:
First son = Oma’doko – he is Amoma (family head). His role is custodian/trustee to:
Call family meeting of the 4 branches Preserve ancestral compound , he cannot sell ancestral land without consent of principal members of the 4 houses
Allocate farmland for use, collect rent/tribute, and account
Ensure youngest children and school-age children are maintained
He is NOT allowed to:
Divide private bank money by seniority but must be equal per child
Sell land in Idah and keep money
Chase away junior wives or their children
If he does, any wife or child can file a caveat at Probate Registry and petition Customary Court in Idah for removal.
MORAL ASSESSMENT – IGALA CONTEXT
Igala morality is built on two concepts: Ane (the earth, justice) and Abulaka (family unity).
Respect for seniority is real, but not ownership. Morally, an Igala first son is expected to be father to his father’s children.
Managing “from first son to least offspring” as a chain of command where first son controls all and last child begs is seen as abomination to Ane – it breaks unity.
The moral question elders ask: “Did you eat alone?
Four wives = four houses (Olam). Morally, each house must be seen.
If Wife 1 has 2 children and Wife 3 has 5, ignoring that imbalance creates everlasting enmity among half-siblings very common in Igala polygamous families in Ankpa, Dekina.
The widows’ plight.
In Igala rural reality, chasing a widow from the farm land is condemning her children to hunger.
Even if custom says she doesn’t inherit, moral duty of the first son is to ensure she has land to farm.
What is considered morally upright today in Igala land:
Hold Ogba (family meeting) with Attah’s district head or clan elders present. List all assets openly.
Appoint joint administrators: First son , eldest son from another wife and a neutral family elder.
Separate family land (cannot be sold) from self-acquired property in Abuja (can be sold and shared equally).
Give equal education fund for minors from youngest wife to oldest.
Keep ancestral house as family house, not first son’s personal house.
If you are the first son reading this: Law now will punish you if you act as sole owner.
Your legal protection is to be transparent and get Letters of Administration.
Your moral protection in Igala culture is to be the peacemaker, not landlord.
If you are a junior wife/child: You have right under Kogi State Customary Court Law to object. You are not at mercy of seniority.
– Benjamin Ibrahim writes from Lokoja, Kogi state.
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