Am I not protected against discrimination as a child born out of wedlock and what about the Osu caste?
Section 42(2) of the 199 Constitution further provides that:
No citizen of Nigeria shall be subjected to any disabilities or deprivation merely by reason of the circumstances of birth.
With the above provision, children born out of wedlock are treated as legitimate for purposes inheritance if acknowledge as children by the putative father.[1] This provision has also been used to uphold the provisions of a law, which sought to remedy the disabilities traditionally, attached to the members of the osu caste in the eastern part of Nigeria.[2]
[1] Mandara v. Attorney General of the Federation (1981) 4 SC 8
[2] Ebiriukwu v. Ohanyerenwa (1959) 4 FSC 212