The Land Use Act is not part of the Nigerian Constitution. The Act was initially decreed by the then Military government in 1978 and the intention was to make lands available for the benefits of all Nigerians. It is a legislation that enjoys special privilege, due to the fact that its amendment can only be done through the process of amending the Constitution. Thus, making all lands tenured, the Act used the leasehold principles to vest the land in each State in the Governor of a State to hold in trust for the benefits of all Nigerians within the State. The Governor of a State is the trustee of all the lands in the State and all Nigerians are left with the equitable interest in the land and become the beneficial owners of the land subject to other provisions of the Act. See the case of Abioye v. Yakubu (1991) 5 NWLR (part 190) p.130. The Act was to nationalise all lands in the country by placing ownership in the State and the highest interest a private individual may get is a Right of Occupancy. See Kachalla v. Banki (2006) ALL FWLR, part 309, p.1420.



The grant of a term of years to a citizen to use, occupy and hold the land is a right of occupancy which is the highest legal interest a holder can have. See Ezennah v. Atta (2004) ALL FWLR, part 202, p.1858, at p 1884. To certify the grant of the right of occupancy, the Governor grants a Certificate of Occupancy to the holder. A Certificate of Occupancy creates a term of years absolute or a lease for a number of years ( in Lagos State this is usually for 99 years). A Certificate of Occupancy which is properly issued by a competent authority raises a presumption that the owner and holder is in exclusive possession of the land.



FOOD FOR THOUGHT: When someone shares something of value with you. You have a moral obligation to share it with others because someone in your friends list might just be needing the information. Information is power. Thank you and don't forget to follow us at Facebook https://www.facebook.com/imaginproperties , Blog www.lagospropertylawyer..com , Instagram @imagin247lagos_property_lawyer and Twitter @imagin4u #LagosPropertyLawyer