The need for a comprehensive legal framework to address matrimonial property rights in Nigeria took centre stage at an inaugural lecture delivered by Professor Oluwakemi Adekile of the Department of Private and Property Law, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos.
Titled “Unequally Yoked: Matrimonial Property Rights Not a Promise of Law,” the lecture was delivered on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, at the J.F. Ade. Ajayi (Main) Auditorium, UNILAG. It was the Four Hundred and Sixty-First (461st) inaugural lecture of the University and the Fifteenth (15th) in the 2025/2026 Academic Session.
Attended by stakeholders from academia and industry, as well as family members, friends, and well-wishers, the lecture examined the challenges surrounding matrimonial property rights in relation to statutory marriage and cohabitation in Nigeria.
Professor Adekile observed that while significant legal reforms and judicial interventions have shaped customary law over the years, little attention has been paid to reforming the legal regime governing matrimonial property under statutory marriage and cohabitation.
The lecture highlighted the inadequacies of the current legal framework, noting that matrimonial property disputes in Nigeria are largely resolved using general property law principles that fail to recognise the unique realities and dynamics of marriage. According to the scholar, this approach leaves many spouses, particularly women, vulnerable to inequitable outcomes upon the dissolution of marriage.
While acknowledging the broad discretionary powers available to judges in the settlement of matrimonial property disputes, Professor Adekile argued that the protection of matrimonial property rights should be firmly anchored in statutory provisions rather than relying solely on judicial discretion.
She examined the major matrimonial property regimes, including the separate property and community property systems, as well as their various adaptations, concluding that neither model provides a perfect solution. She therefore stressed the need for a legal framework that better reflects contemporary family realities and promotes fairness between spouses.
The Professor of Private and Property Law identified several challenges confronting matrimonial property rights in Nigeria, including the absence of a comprehensive legal framework, the lack of legal recognition of the matrimonial home concept, inequities in the assessment of spousal contributions, the absence of laws governing marital agreements, and outdated statutory provisions relating to property settlement.
Drawing insights from jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom, Ghana, and Uganda, the inaugural lecturer noted that many countries have adopted more equitable approaches through redistributive powers, constitutional recognition of joint property rights, and statutory guarantees of equality within marriage.
She argued that Nigeria remains constrained by structural inequalities that leave many married couples “unequally yoked” in matters of property ownership and protection, emphasizing that the law currently provides insufficient safeguards for vulnerable spouses.
To address these challenges, Professor Adekile advocated a holistic reform of Nigeria’s family law system. She called for the enactment of a comprehensive Family Law Act that would clearly define matrimonial property, recognise indirect contributions made by spouses, establish statutory protections for occupation and shared home rights, and provide a legal framework for pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements.
She also recommended the ratification and domestication of relevant international human rights treaties relating to family law, as well as sustained academic engagement on matrimonial property rights as a pathway to achieving greater equity and justice within Nigerian families.
About the Inaugural Lecturer
Professor Oluwakemi Mary Adekile was born on June 3, 1970, in Ilesa, Osun State, as the first child of Mr. Jeremiah Oladipo Akobi, a lawyer and former Comptroller of Immigration from Ajamopo, Ile-Ife, and Princess Aderonke Ademoroti of the Ooni Ilare, Ogboru Adimula Ruling House, Ilare, Ile-Ife.
After completing her primary and secondary education at Sacred Heart Private School and Our Lady of Apostles Secondary School, both in Ibadan, she proceeded to Lagos State University, Ojo, where she earned an LL.B. in 1990. She was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1991, and later obtained her Master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Lagos in 1996 and 2013, respectively.
Professor Adekile began her academic career as a lecturer at the Nigerian Law School in 1993. She joined the Department of Private & Property Law, University of Lagos, on March 4, 1998, as Lecturer II, and rose to the rank of Professor of Private and Property Law in 2021. She served as Sub-Dean of the Faculty of Law from 2014 to 2016.
She has taught most courses in her Department, including Environmental Law, Law of Succession, Planning Law, and Gender and the Law. She currently teaches Law of Torts, Family Law, Gender and the Law, and Legal Research and Writing at the undergraduate level, as well as Comparative Family Law and Cyber-Torts at the postgraduate level. Her research focuses on inclusivity across the broad spectrum of private law.
Professor Adekile is passionate about using technology to advance knowledge across borders through her YouTube channel, @TheLawProfessor, where students and practitioners gain insights into contemporary legal issues. She has shaped ideas, policy, law, and thought processes through her teaching and extensive publications in local and international journals, as well as her authorship of books. These include Family Law (2024), the first textbook to infuse gender and human rights into the study of Family Law, and Gender and the Law, Nigeria’s first course-based text on the subject, which she co-authored.
At various times, Professor Adekile has consulted for government agencies through expert papers on aspects of private law, including one that contributed to the inclusion of privacy protection in the Law Reform (Tort) Law, Cap. L2, Laws of Lagos State, 2003.
She has also contributed to the legal profession through teaching, research, and public lectures. She was the inaugural co-coordinator of the Anti-Human Trafficking Legal Hub in Lagos State, a project of the International Organization for Migration, which produced policies and processes to better protect persons from trafficking.
Professor Adekile belongs to several professional bodies, including the Nigerian Bar Association, Nigerian Association of Law Teachers, Socio-Legal Studies Association, United Kingdom, and the International Society of Family Law. She is an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria.
A Sunday school teacher at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Professor Adekile also serves on the Board of Royal Heritage International School, Ikeji-Arakeji, Osun State.
Professor Oluwakemi Mary Adekile is married and blessed with children.
Report: Gbenga Gbelee
Photograph: Michael Joshua
