Upata Kingdom Leads the Way in Approving Girl Child Inheritance Rights in Rivers State.

HRM Eze Felix E. Otuwarikpo 

Ph.D, fnipr, JP,

Eze Igbu Upata III

Do you know that the Upata Kingdom in Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State is the first to approve the right of the girl child to inheritance following the passage of a new law in 2023?

This landmark disclosure was made by His Royal Majesty, Eze Felix Otuwarikpo, Eze Igbu Upata the Third, while speaking as the Royal Father of the Day at the End-of-Year Cultural Banquet of the African Women Lawyers Association (AWLA), Nigeria, with them “Rooted in Culture, Rising in Purpose”, held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The monarch explained that the decision was reached after extensive consultations within the kingdom, describing it as a bold and progressive step towards justice, equity and the protection of the girl child’s future. He noted that Upata Kingdom deliberately chose to take the lead in aligning cultural practices with evolving legal and human rights standards.

Eze Otuwarikpo commended the African Women Lawyers Association for its advocacy on women and child rights but challenged the association to deepen its engagement at the grassroots.

According to him, meaningful impact cannot be achieved if advocacy is limited to meetings among legal practitioners alone.

He urged AWLA members to intensify consultations with traditional institutions, visit secondary schools and universities to sensitise young girls on their rights, and extend their outreach to police stations to better understand and address cases of rights violations against women.

“There are many women whose rights are violated on different grounds,” the royal father noted, stressing the need for closer collaboration with law enforcement agencies.

He further encouraged regular interaction with girls across communities, saying such engagements would help guide them away from decisions that could negatively affect their future and contribute to building a more informed and responsible society.

On her part, the Immediate Past Coordinator of the African Women Lawyers Association (AWLA), Nigeria, Rivers State Branch, Gloria Anwuri Ohia, highlighted the strong legal backing already available to women in the state.

Ohia explained that Rivers State has enacted the Rivers State Prohibition of the Curtailment of Women’s Rights to Share in Family Property Law, No. 2 of 2022, which legally grants women equal rights to inherit property from their fathers. She said the law also protects married women, allowing them to inherit both from their husband’s estate and their father’s property, regardless of whether they have male children or not.

According to her, the law effectively abolishes discriminatory traditional practices that deny female children inheritance rights, leaving such privileges solely to male children.

She, however, noted that the major challenge is not the absence of laws but the unwillingness of many women to assert their rights. Ohia observed that even when free legal assistance is offered—often in collaboration with the O.B Lulu Briggs Foundation—some widows and affected women still decline to pursue their lawful entitlements.

“Our problem is not lack of laws, but lack of willpower to pursue our rights within the ambits of the law,” she said.

She added that AWLA has continued to carry out sensitisation and outreach programmes across rural and urban communities in Rivers State, including Abonnema, Ahoada, upland and riverine areas, using community engagements as well as radio and television programmes to educate women.

Ohia expressed hope that with sustained awareness campaigns and growing support from traditional institutions like the Upata Kingdom, more women would find the courage to stand up for their rights and fully benefit from the protections provided by the law.