Dead Bodies in Nigerian Jurisprudence

bibliographic database
Line

Periodical article

Title:	Dead Bodies in Nigerian Jurisprudence
Author:	Nwabueze, Remigius N.
Year:	2007
Periodical:	Journal of African Law
Volume:	51
Issue:	1
Pages:	117-150
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Nigeria
Subjects:	funerals lawsuits customary law Igbo jurisprudence
External link:	https://www.jstor.org/stable/27607981
Abstract:	Recent events and a few unreported High Court decisions in Nigeria show the need for a serious analytical engagement with the law relating to dead bodies. Topical issues from these cases focus on jurisdiction, the right to control the disposition of remains, and remedies available for the infringement of a burial right. While the meaning and content of sepulchral rights remain the same in Nigeria as in many industrialized nations, their prioritization is markedly different. In contrast to the highly individualized nature of burial rights in many Western legal systems, the control of sepulchral rights under many systems of customary law in eastern Nigeria, including that of the Igbo, is familial in character. In some circumstances, however, recourse may be had to statutory provisions that import English priority rules. While a range of remedies is available for an interference with a burial right, injunctions and declarations are the most sought after by Nigerian litigants. An expedited hearing is preferable to an interlocutory order of injunction. Notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]