Abstract
In the last two decades or thereabout, Area Courts and indeed other courts with jurisdiction to hear and determine muslim matters in Ilorin have been inundated with cases involving distribution of estate of deceased Muslims who have died long time without having such estates distributed on time. Some of these cases dragged for a long time resulting into protracted litigation. The curiosity of the author to find out the cause(s) of these delays is the driving force for embarking on this research work. This paper is therefore, an indepth examination of the causes of delay in the distribution of estates of deceased Muslims of Ilorin specifically and the Muslims of Kwara State in general. Delay breeds litigation which most often becomes protracted. This paper is meant to serve as a clarion call to revert to application of pristine Islamic Law of Inheritance after identifying delay as a serious problem in the sphere of application of Islamic Law of Inheritance in the area under reference.
Highlights
Ilorin is both de facto and de jure a town inhabited by Muslims.[1]
In the last two decades or thereabout, Area Courts and other courts with jurisdiction to hear and determine Muslim matters in Ilorin have been inundated with cases involving distribution of estate of deceased Muslims who have died long time without having such estates distributed on time
It is presumed and it ought to be that when it comes to the areas of specialization, it is the expert in the relevant field that takes the stage to handle the issue(s) at stake as the case may be. This is because each area of specialization has developed its jurisprudential science to solve any given knot, even though they all have common primary sources,[67] i.e., the Glorious Qur’an and Hadith/Sunnah. These days it is not uncommon in Ilorin and amongst the Muslims of Kwara State, to find Alfas who are not versed in the knowledge, skill and art of estate distribution indulging in estate distribution when called upon to do so by heirs.[68]
Summary
Ilorin is both de facto and de jure a town inhabited by Muslims.[1]. The inhabitants of the town consist of the Yoruba,[2] Hausa, Nupe, Baruba and Fulfulde speaking communities who form the major ethnic groups of Kwara State. Layiwola Muniru 31 buttresses the assertion that the attitude of lawyers constitutes one of the major causes of delay in the distribution of estates in the very few cases of inheritance that are determined by means of court litigation in Ilorin and Kwara State in general. In this case, the Court of Appeal, Ilorin Division, on 11th July 2002 delivered its judgment which was not palatable to the Appellants. It is vividly clear that attitude of counsel has caused a delay of about seven years (from 11th July 2002 to 5th January 2009) in the course of having the case being decided
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