“C.O. Okonkwo states that customary practices become law when they are incorporated into the formal legal system, especially through judicial decisions.”

Okonkwo v. Okagbue, [1994] 12 S.C.N.J. 89, 102. Ndulo, supra note 4, at 95; Derek Asiedu-Akrofi, Judicial Recognition and Adoption of Customary Law in.

Where a custom cannot be established as one judicially noticed it may be established and adopted as part of law governing particular circumstances by calling evidence to show that persons or the class of persons concerned in the particular area regard the alleged custom as binding upon them. Provided that in the case of any custom relied upon in any judicial proceeding it shall not be enforced as law if it is contrary to public policy and is not in accordance with natural justice, equity and good conscience.

A key issue for the Court’s determination was the validity of the Nrachi custom, which indirectly forbids a widow from inheriting her husband’s estate. The Court of Appeal held that the custom failed the repugnancy test because children born to a woman who had undergone this ceremony are denied the paternity of their natural father.

In at least one case, the Supreme Court has given impetus to this distinction. In Okonkwo v Okagbue, Ogundare JSC admitted that, “a declaration by the courts that a particular custom is repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience, does not necessarily imply that such customary law is illegal, for sometimes the practice goes on publicly after the judges' decision. In such a case, all that the courts can legitimately do, and have done, is to refuse to enforce it.” This article also notes that Section 16(1) of the Evidence Act, 2011, provides that “a custom may be adopted as part of the law governing a particular set of circumstances if it can be judicially noticed or can be proved to exist by evidence”.

A custom is not necessary customary law until requirement are made. For a custom to become a customary law, it must have the force of law. In other words, it must bind on the people which it is applied. It must have a force of law.

Marriage in Nigeria, can either be statutory or customary (including Islamic) and the incidences as well as the dissolution, of any of these marriages, is regulated by the applicable system of law. The failure to abide by the applicable system of law, would obviate anything purportedly done for or against the marriage including its dissolution.

Review of the Supreme Court Decision in Okonkwo v. Ezeaku, 6(1) BILD L. J. It also leads to inadequate regulation of the customary courts in terms of ...

It defines customary law as a particular way of behavior that has long been established among a social group and can acquire the force of law if approved by consent. It discusses two important court cases - Okonkwo v Okagbue which established that a custom allowing a woman to marry a deceased man is against public policy.

In the Nigerian judicial system, customary law is primarily applied by Customary Courts and Area Courts, depending on the state and region. In applying customary law, courts are mandated to ascertain the existence and validity of the custom in question, such custom must be reasonable, certain, and not repugnant to natural justice, equity, and good conscience. This is commonly referred to as the repugnancy test. Section 18(1) of the Evidence Act 2011, provides that customary law must be judicially noticed or proved to the satisfaction of the court.

One of the finest recent additions to our legal literature is “The Nigerian Legal System In Context” by Professor Theodore Okonkwo: He needs no introduction as a foremost scholar and practitioner of the Nigerian legal system.

This comment reviews the Nigerian Court of Appeal decision in Ezeaku v. Okonkwo (2012) All FWLR Part 654 @ Page 128 which considered the dissolution of marriage under customary law.

Customary Law are a system of law that is based on the established patterns of behaviour, traditions, and customs of a particular community or society which is known to have evolved over time with the community's changing customs. Some of these customs have received judicial recognition and are now judicially noticed in courts of record. For example, in Alake v. Pratt, the court recognized traditional practices, thereby validating indigenous norms within the formal legal system.

In Nigerian law, as articulated by scholars like C.O. Okonkwo in 'An Introduction to Nigerian Law', customary practices gain the status of law when they pass judicial tests for validity, including not being repugnant to natural justice, equity, and good conscience, and are incorporated through court recognition and enforcement.

AMBROSE ANENE OKONKWO v. ANTHONY CHIKELUE OKONKWO 2019-LD-CA-50 Court of Appeal 11th June, 2019 Justices: Ignatius Igwe Agube, JCA Misitura Omodere.

The common law as part of the received English law is the law developed by the old common law courts of England... In order to bring all the different system of local customs in England and enforce these customs, the common law judges developed a system of law which is referred to as the Common Law of England. The rules of the common law are found in judicial decisions.

In all the jurisdictions in the county when customary law is applicable the courts are directed to apply either the law prevailing in the area of ...