IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF NIGERIA

IN THE JAM JAM JUDICIAL DIVISION

HOLDING AT DAN DUN

SUIT NO: HC/JJ/CV/033/23

APPEAL NO: CA/JJ/CV/003/23

BETWEEN:

1. AISHA
--------------- APPELLANTS
2. UNKOWN PERSONS

(AS SELF-APPOINTED ADMINISTRATORS

OF THE ESTATE OF LATE ALHAJI JIMOH)

AND

JESSICA -------------------------------------------------------------- RESPONDENT

(FOR HERSELF, AS BENEFICIARY OF THE

ESTATE OF ALHAJI JIMOH)

APPELLANTS’ JOINT BRIEF OF ARGUMENT

DATED 10TH DAY OF OCTOBER 2023

SETTLED BY:

J.O Yusuf
Mustapha Hawwau
N.O Keulere
A.H Tukur
H.A Aliyu
Counsel to the appellants,
Realist Chambers,
Ahmadu Bello University,
Zaria,
Kaduna State.
Yusufjamiu48@gmail.com
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FOR SERVICE:
The Respondents,
Dan Dun Town,
Jam Jam State.
C/O Their Counsel.

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 IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF NIGERIA

IN THE JAM JAM JUDICIAL DIVISION

HOLDING AT DAN DUN

SUIT NO: HC/JJ/CV/033/23

APPEAL NO: CA/JJ/CV/003/23

BETWEEN:

3. AISHA
--------------- APPELLANTS
4. UNKOWN PERSONS

(AS SELF-APPOINTED ADMINISTRATORS

OF THE ESTATE OF LATE ALHAJI JIMOH)

AND

JESSICA -------------------------------------------------------------- RESPONDENT

(FOR HERSELF, AS BENEFICIARY OF THE

ESTATE OF ALHAJI JIMOH)

TABLE OF CONTENT

S/N CONTENT PAGE NUMBER

1 Title

2 Table Of Content

3 Introduction

4 Statement of Relevant Fact

5 Issues For Determination

6 Legal Argument

7 Summary Of Argument

8 Conclusion

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 9 List Of Authorities

1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 This is an appeal against the decision of the high court of Jam Jam, sitting at Dandun
(hereinafter referred to as the lower court) wherein all the reliefs sought by the respondent,
who was the claimant before the lower court, was granted.
1.2 Aggrieved with the said decision, the appellants have filed their notice of appeal, containing
a solid and viable ground of appeal from which two distinct issues for determination were
distilled for the resolution of this appeal.
2.0 STATEMENT OF RELEVANT FACT
2.1 The respondent contracted a marriage with Alhaji Jimoh (hereinafter referred to as the
deceased) at the Federal Marriage Registry, Malete.
2.2 After sometime, the deceased, on his own volition devoid of compulsion or fraud, contracted
and celebrated another marriage with the 1st appellant at the central mosque, Dandun. Within
four years, the 1st appellant bore a son and a daughter for the deceased.
2.3 Quite sorrowfully, the deceased lost his life in the hospital where he was admitted after
experiencing a fatal accident. Soon after, the family of the deceased proceeded to devolve his
estate under Islamic since he died a Muslim and in fact, contracted his most recent marriage
under Islamic law.
2.4 As a result, the respondent was neither allotted nor appropriated any excision of the
deceased’s estate sole due to her religious background.
2.5 Consequently, the respondent approached the lower court to renounce the estate shared and
pray the court to hold that the estate of the deceased should be devolved in accordance to the
Administration of estate law of Jam Jam State and not Islamic law.
2.6 Shockingly, the lower court acceded to the prayer of the respondent, placing heavy reliance
on the wordings of S.A Giwa contained in his book titled; ‘The Status of Registry and
Islamic Marriage’.
2.7 Peeved with the decision of the lower, the appellants have appealed before this noble court.
2.8 Hence, this appellants’ joint brief of argument as legal argument in support of the appeal
praying this court to set aside the decision of the lower court.
3.0 ISSUES FOR DETERMINATION

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3.1 For the kind and just resolution of this appeal by this noble court, the appellants have
formulated the following issues for determination:
i. WHETHER OR NOT the deceased’s subsequent marriage to the 1st appellant
under Islamic law invalidates his initial marriage to the respondent under the
marriage act? (Distilled from Ground One)
ii. WHETHER OR NOT the deceased’s estate should be distributed in
accordance to Islamic law or under the administration of estate law of Jam Jam
State? (Distilled from Ground One)
4.0 LEGAL ARGUMENT ON ISSUE FOR DETERMINATION NUMBER ONE
4.1 My lords, the gravamen of this issue is whether Alhaji Jimoh’s (the deceased’s)
marriage to Aisha (1st appellant) under Islamic law invalidates his initial marriage to
Jessica (respondent) under the marriage act. We respectfully submit in the affirmative
that the
4.2 J
5.0 LEGAL ARGUMENT ON ISSUE FOR DETERMINATION NUMBER TWO
5.1 My lords, this fulcrum of this issue is whether the estate of the deceased (Alhaji Jimoh)
should be devolved in accordance with the Islamic Law or Under the Administration of
Estate Law of Jam Jam State. We respectfully submit that the estate should be devolved
under Islamic law and urge this court to so hold in lieu of the succeeding argument.
5.2 First my lords, both Islamic law and the administration of estate law stipulates different
method for distributing the estate of a deceased. To determine which one will apply in cases
like this, academics – particularly, Osita Nnamani Ogbu at page 344 of his text; ‘Modern
Nigerian Legal System – propose that in mixed cause succession, court should apply the
personal law of the deceased. (Underlined Mine). Also, Niki Tobi in his text – Sources of
Nigerian Law – proposed that; “the appropriate law in all succession cases whether
involving land or not should have been the personal law of the deceased. This is because if
he were to part with his property inter vivos, he most likely would have done so in
accordance with the customary law applicable to him.”
5.3 Therefore my lords, it is safe to state that the personal law of a deceased guides the
distribution of his estate where he dies intestate. According to Niki Tobi, ”Personal law” in
the context of the succession cases appear to mean ‘the law the deceased was normally

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 subjected to when he was alive.’ My lords, it is to be noted that Islamic law is one of those
personal laws by virtue of Section 277 of the constitution that created Sharia court of appeal
to deal with questions of Islamic person law alone. We observe my lords and as rightly
conjectured by Osita at Page 344 of his text that ‘it does not necessarily follow that Islamic
law is the personal law of all adherents of muslim religion. The rule is that whether in any
particular case, moslem law should be regarded as the personal law of the party is to be
decided not on the fact of his faith alone, but whether he regarded or conducted himself as
subject to Islamic law’
5.4 The question that therefore begs for answer before this court is whether the deceased
regarded or subjected himself to Islamic law. We vehemently answer this question in the
affirmative in lieu of the fact that the appellant contracted an Islamic marriage after his
marriage under the act to the respondent. My lords, if the deceased intends to be guided by
the provision of statute, he would have contracted his subsequent marriage under the act as
well.
5.5 Assuming without conceding that the court is not inclined to accede to our contention, the
case of ASIATA V. GONCALLO (1900) N.L.R. 41 will sway the court in our favour. In that
case, the deceased, Elese, a Nigerian Yoruba Man was taken to Brazil as a slave and married
Selia according to Muslim rites and then later in a Christian Church. He came back to
Nigeria with Selia and he Married Asatu in accordance to the Moslem rights. Upon his
demise, the court held that:
“the deceased had lived all his life as a devout moslem and had, with the full acquisence
of his two wives, plainly considered himself subject to Islamic law. As such Islamic law
should govern the distribution of the estate of the deceased.”
5.6 Importing the above decision to the case at hand, the fact that the respondent and 1 st appellant
acquiesced to the deceased being a muslim, Islamic should by implication govern the
distribution of his estate. My lords, we are not oblivious of the current holdings of various
courts of different cadres, notorious among which is the holding of this court in NEBUWA
V. NNENNA (2018) LPELR-CA/E/447/2017 (Pp. 30-34, Paras. C-A) and that of the Sharia
Court of Appeal in MOHAMMED & ANOR V. MOHAMMED & 5 ORS (Unreported)
Appeal No: KWS/SCA/CV/AP/IL/14/2022 where it emphasized that contracting a marriage

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 under the marriage act implies that the deceased intends to be governed by the applicable
statute in the succession of his estate where he dies intestate.
5.7 We humbly submit that the above decisions and the rationale behind them should not be
followed in this case. Rather, this court should toe the principle of “cultralization as it relates
to distribution of an estate of a deceased person under customary law” laid down by the apex
court in the case of OLOWU V. OLOWU (1985) LPELR-SC.101/1984 (Pp. 32-33, paras. A-
D). In Olowu, the apex court declared that the act of the deceased to have naturalized and
become entitled to acquire properties as other indigenes of Benin, it is the Benin Law and
Custom that will govern the succession of his estate. The court further went ahead to hold
thus:
“a person may change his status under customary law (and consequently his personal
law) either by choice or culturalization…”
5.8 My lords, in line with the above authority, we posit that the act of the deceased to contract a
subsequent marriage under Islamic law after contracting one under the marriage act infers
that he has changed his personal law from Statute to Islamic Law. Therefore, we submit that
Islamic law should govern the sharing of the estate of the deceased and not the
Administration of estate law.
5.9 On another note my lords, the conflict that ensues in this issue is which law should govern
the distribution of the estate of the deceased between the Islamic Personal Law and the
Administration of Estate Law. Comparatively my lords, we contend that Islamic personal
Law supersedes the Administration of Estate Law reason being that it derives its validity and
recognition directly from the CFRN – particularly, Section 277 of the Constitution –
whereas, the administration of estate law is a legislation of the house of assembly.
5.10 On this point, we submit that credence should be given to Islamic personal law before
having regard to the Administration of estate law so far it covers the subject matter in dispute
which is succession.
5.11 It is our submission on the totality of the above argument that this court should hold
Islamic Law as the applicable law to the distribution of the estate of the deceased.

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