THE KADUNA STATE TORTS LAW PROVISIONS ON FATAL ACCIDENTS AS AN ATTEMPT AT DOING JUSTICE IN DIVERSITY: A CRITICAL REVIEW

The Kaduna State torts Law was promulgated as an Edict in 1987 but later adopted as a law in 1991 and hence, contained in the laws of Kaduna State 1991 at its Chapter 12. Part 1 of the law deals with fatal accident claims. Apart from satisfying two of the basic reasons for legislation, viz; ensuring regulated conduct and catering for the welfare of citizens, the law framers appear to have made a modest attempt at making provisions that will take care of the diversity of the state in the areas of religion and ethnicity or tribe, This is because its provisions cover people who are not subject to any system of customary law, people who are subject to ethnic customary law and people who are subject, to Islamic law. To the extent that the law take into account, these deferring cultural and religious backgrounds, the framers of the law have also, to some extent, satisfy another important consideration in making a law namely, that the law should as much as possible be in conformity with the value systems of the people within which it shall operate. The question however is; has the law substantially delivered on this _ area In other words, is the incorporation of the religious and cultural diversities of the people to extent that one can say all groups have been adequately catered for or it is a mere window dressing? The foregoing poser is the basic task of the paper. And to deliver on the task, key sections of the law relating to fatal accidents shall be Critically analysed under suitable sub-titles.