TITLE OF THE ARTICLE: Appraisal of the Jurisdictional Tug of War over Customary Law between High Courts and Customary Courts
AUTHOR:
Richard Emeka Ogbodo, LL.M, BL, Legal Practitioner.
ABSTRACT:
This article sets out to streamline the predominant but erroneous view that the High Court shares concurrent original jurisdiction with the Customary Court on issue of customary right of occupancy and the High Court’s posturing as having exclusive jurisdiction in the enforcement of customary arbitral award. The primary objectives of this work are two-fold namely to show that section 41 of the Land Use Act does not confer jurisdiction in respect of a customary right of occupancy on a State High Court and that a State High Court lacks the jurisdiction to enforce customary arbitral award. The article vividly demonstrates why the High Court has no original jurisdiction in issues relating to customary right of occupancy and enforcement of customary arbitral awards.