Person To Whom Bride Price Is Payable

A father is the right person legally entitled to receive bride price in patrilineal societies in Nigeria. In his absence, the right devolves on the male head of his immediate family. Where neither the father nor his successor is available, the guardian of the girl or a person in loco parentis becomes entitled to receive the bride price of his ward.

In the riverine areas of Ijo which practice matrilineal descent, the wife of an iqwa or 'small dowry' marriage and her children belong to her father's family rather than that of the husband. As a result, the bride price in respect of a daughter of such marriage goes to her maternal uncles or other members of her mother's family.