“Who Is My Child?”—Implications of Judicial Rejection of Commune-Cultural Conceptions of the Family for Children’s Welfare in Nigeria

Abstract

The question of family composition remains a subjective jurisprudence in various jurisdictions. In Nigeria, legislative and judicial responses to different family forms are generally broadening under the general law in cases where there is a biological link between family members. Yet, the findings of this article indicate that family formulation under certain commune-cultural models is rejected by the courts. This article appraised judicial responses to five of such frameworks and drew attention to the negative implications of the dismissive judicial attitude to the realization of children’s rights and protection of their socio-economic welfare. Its thesis is that it is antithetic to the expansive national legislative direction on family conception, international socio-legal thoughts on family relations and directly questions the sincerity of the state’s proclaimed constitutional policy/goal of catering to the welfare of all children.