SOAS Research Online

Abstract

This is the first attempt to single out Children and Young Persons for treatment under the customary law, local statutes and received laws relating to them in Nigeria, particularly in Lagos and Western States of Nigeria. The reason for undertaking this study is not only to draw attention to the recognition of this class of persons within the legal system, but also to point out the defects in the existing dualism of laws as affecting children and young persons. Accordingly, the first Chapter deals with the background to the legal status of children and young persons, leading on to the problems of legitimacy and legitimation as well as adoption and guardianship. In Chapters Four and Five, the capacity and incapacity of children and young persons to do a particular legal act is examined as well as the conflicts in the concept of the age of majority. Chapter Six deals with the problem of custody and maintenance and the application of the Welfare Principle both under the customary and statutory laws; the Chapter on Education reveals the problem of a nation with insatiable appetite for the Western education system, limited only by the financial resources available and Chapter Eight surveys the extent and problem of juvenile delinquency in Yoruba society and the measures of treatment - both preventive and curative - available. Chapter Nine contains a reflection on all that has been discussed in previous Chapters with concrete suggestions for the integration of customary and statutory laws, in order to make the law certain with respect to children and young persons.