TOWARDS THE PROTECTION OF SUCCESSION RIGHTS OF ADOPTED CHILDREN: LIMITS OF LAW
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Abstract
Succinctly, adoption is the legal process of extricating a child from their natural/biological
descent, and vesting them into the care/guardianship of another parent(s). In the Nigerian society, child-bearing is the hallmark of marriage, resulting in a social expectation of fruitfulness of married couples. Couples who are unable to bear children, or to the desired number, or unable to have the desired gender, couples often resort to the practice of adoption. The ensuing result is that the adopted child (adoptee) acquires a new family and parentage, distinct from his biological lineage. The process of adoption extinguishes all claims, rights and entitlements of the adoptee flowing from his biological descent. Ideally, it also earns him/her the legal status of a fullfledged child in his adopted family, with all the accompanying benefits. However, more often than not, the foregoing assertions are not practical. Adopted children are deprived of certain rights that should ordinarily enure to them, especially under customary law. Such discriminatory practice undermines section 42(2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). It also erodes the utility of the practice of adoption as a viable alternative to human trafficking and ‘baby-selling’. Hence, this long essay investigated the succession rights of adopted children in Nigeria. To do so, the study examined the avalanche of legal frameworks outlining the rights of children in Nigeria, as well as the position of customary law on the subject. Further, we critically examined the practice of adoption in Nigeria vis-à-vis the practice of adoption in neighboring jurisdictions. It was found that there is judicial ambivalence over the succession rights of adopted children in Nigeria, and this study recommends urgent legislative reform, as well as judicial activism, to protect the succession rights of adopted children.
descent, and vesting them into the care/guardianship of another parent(s). In the Nigerian society, child-bearing is the hallmark of marriage, resulting in a social expectation of fruitfulness of married couples. Couples who are unable to bear children, or to the desired number, or unable to have the desired gender, couples often resort to the practice of adoption. The ensuing result is that the adopted child (adoptee) acquires a new family and parentage, distinct from his biological lineage. The process of adoption extinguishes all claims, rights and entitlements of the adoptee flowing from his biological descent. Ideally, it also earns him/her the legal status of a fullfledged child in his adopted family, with all the accompanying benefits. However, more often than not, the foregoing assertions are not practical. Adopted children are deprived of certain rights that should ordinarily enure to them, especially under customary law. Such discriminatory practice undermines section 42(2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). It also erodes the utility of the practice of adoption as a viable alternative to human trafficking and ‘baby-selling’. Hence, this long essay investigated the succession rights of adopted children in Nigeria. To do so, the study examined the avalanche of legal frameworks outlining the rights of children in Nigeria, as well as the position of customary law on the subject. Further, we critically examined the practice of adoption in Nigeria vis-à-vis the practice of adoption in neighboring jurisdictions. It was found that there is judicial ambivalence over the succession rights of adopted children in Nigeria, and this study recommends urgent legislative reform, as well as judicial activism, to protect the succession rights of adopted children.
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