Powerful Points from FIDA Nigeria Law Week 2012

International Federation of Women Lawyers, Nigeria has condemned the provisions of the Federal Character Commission Establishment Act stipulating that married women should continue to lay claim to their state of origin.

FIDA Country Vice- President/President Nigeria, Hauwa Shekarau, on Thursday said at an event to mark the 2012 FIDA Week in Abuja that the Federal Character Commission (Establishment Act) CAP F7 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, Part 11, Section 2 (Position on Married Women) was discriminatory and contrary to the 1999 Constitution.

Part 11, Section 2 of the FCC Establishment Act provides that “A married woman shall continue to lay claim to her state of origin for the purpose of implementation of the Federal Character Formulae at the national level”.

Shekarau spoke against the backdrop of the last minute dropping of Justice Ifeoma Jombo-Ofo from being sworn in as an Appeal Court justice.

Jombo-Ofo comes from Anambra State but married a man from Abia State. But petitions over her state of origin led to the decision of Chief Justice of Nigeria, Aloma Mukhtar, not to swear her in.

Shekarau said, “FIDA Nigeria is concerned about the discrimination generally suffered by women in Nigeria, both married and unmarried.

“This is quite contrary to Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is sad that within the same constitution there are some discriminatory provisions that go contrary to the spirit and letter of Section 42 of the same Constitution.

“For instance, the constitution affords a Nigerian man the right to confer Nigerian citizenship on his foreign wife. On the contrary, a Nigerian woman cannot in the same vein confer Nigerian citizenship on her foreign husband. This is purely discriminatory to say the least.”

She described Part 11, Section 2 of the FCC Establishment Act as “a double-edged sword that works against women who are married to spouses from different states of origin as theirs”.

She added, “It is clearly discriminatory and goes contrary to Section 42 of the constitution.

“Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution provides that a citizen of Nigeria of a particular community, ethnic group, place of origin, sex, religion or political opinion shall not by reason only that he is such a person.”