ABSTRACT
The Armed Forces Act (Cap A20) Laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004 is presently the Military Law regulating the Nigerian Armed Forces which consist of the Army, Airforce and Navy. The Act virtually embodied of testate and intestate procedures for the Administration of estate of deceased Military Personnel. This research basically examine the status and duties of Personal Representatives not appointed by a Will of Service Personnel but recognized under the Act (e.g Next-of-Kin or Claimants of Service Personnel). The research was conceived pursuant to misconception regarding the status and duties of Next-of-Kin/Personal Representative. This misconception was borne out from the Next-of-Kin appointment provisions under the Act. The provisions are to the effect that, money or Personal Property of Deceased Personnel may be paid or delivered of Next-of-Kin or Claimants. The Act was silent on what next the receivers of such estate will do after the delivery of the estate of him/her. This silence was the factor for the erroneous belief that a Personal Representative of a Deceased Personnel is the sole beneficiary of the estate of the deceased. Such believe was the cause of conflicts between appointed Next-of-Kin and the heirs of Deceased Personnel, which have resulted in series of petitions against of Next-of-Kins. Consequently, this dissertation aimed at examining the nature of Will under the Armed Forces Act and critically examine the status and duties of Personal Representatives under the testate and intestate succession. In this work, both doctrinal and empirical approach was adopted. The doctrinal research was achieved by the study of the Armed Forces Act, textbooks, Journals, correspondence and petitions from heirs of Deceased Service Personnel. The empirical approach was carried out through the preparation and distribution of questionnaire and analysis of data. The result showed that 45 out of the total of 100 respondents (52.9%) were of the view that Next-of-Kin is the sole beneficiary of the estate of Deceased Service Personnel. The work therefore recommended that, the status and duties of a Personnel Representative such as representing the deceased in all matters of the deceased entitlements and welfare of the deceased family, keeping a constant touch with the unit of the deceased on matters of the deceased family and briefing them accordingly, collecting any entitlements of the deceased Personnel when paid or delivered to him by the appropriate authority and presenting such entitlements to the family of the deceased or appropriate body or institution for onward distribution to the deceased heirs in accordance with the custom or tradition of the deceased Personnel, should be expressly stipulated to ambiguous circumstance on the status of Next-of-Kin.