FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC NEKEDE

P.M.B 1036 OWERRI IMO STATE

TERM PAPER

ON

A BRIEF CRITIQUE OF THE LAND USE ACT 1978

WRITTEN BY

NAMES: ENEMUO CHIDERA DAVID

DEPT: ESTATE MANAGEMENT

LEVEL: HND 1 EVENING

COURSE TITLE: PROPERTY LAW

COURSE CODE: EST 312

LECTURER:

DATE: FEBRUARY 2024

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 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Land Use Act

Land Use Act is an Act to vest all land comprised in the territory of each State (except land
vested in the Federal Government or its agencies) solely in the Governor of the State, who would
hold such land in trust for the people and would henceforth be responsible for allocation of land
in all urban areas to individuals resident in the State and to organizations for residential,
agricultural, commercial and other purposes while similar powers with respect to non-urban
areas are conferred on Local Governments.

This Act vests all land comprised in the territory of each State in the Federation in the Governor
of that State and requires that such land shall be held in trust and administered for the use and
common benefit of all Nigerians in accordance with the provisions of this Act. In each State a
Land Use and Allocation Committee shall be established. Such committee shall be responsible
for advising the Governor on land management and resettlement issues.

The Governor may declare urban areas and land controlled by the military shall be administered
separately. The Governor may, in respect of land, whether or not in urban areas, grant statutory
rights of occupancy to any person for all purposes and grant easements appurtenant to statutory
rights occupancy. The Governor may waive all or any of the covenant or conditions applying to a
right of occupancy. The local government may grant rights of customary occupancy in respect of
land to be used for agricultural purposes.

The Act further defines rights and duties of occupants and regulates the determination and
payment of rents, the alienation and surrender of rights of occupancy, revocation of rights of
occupancy and compensation therefore and some other matters of miscellaneous character. It
shall be lawful for the Governor to revoke a right of (customary) occupancy for overriding public
interest.

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 CHAPTER TWO

2.1 Review of Land Acts Prior to the 1978 Land Use Act.
The Nigerian Land use Act of 1978 abolished the existing land tenure systems and replaced them
with a uniform Land Administration system across the Country. Prior to the Act, there were three
land tenure systems. They were the customary which was essentially based on the customs and
traditions of the various communities with the Chief, community or family head holding the land
in trust for family or community use; the non-customary, based on the received English Law
(operational mainly in the then Lagos Colony) which vested the land on the British Crown but
also allowed for either free-holding or lease holding with tenured occupancy; and special native-
favoured system of Northern Nigeria which put the land under the control of the Governor for
the use and benefit of the Natives of the Region. All the existing tenure systems encouraged land
holding without an obligation to develop them, fragmentation and uncoordinated alienation,
hoarding speculatively for value appreciation and without precise documentation. Waziri, A. G.
& Rousli, R. (2013).

2.2 Highlight of the Provision of the Land Use Act

 The Act vests all urban lands comprised in the territory of each State (except those
vested in the Federal Government or its Agencies) solely in the Governor to hold in trust
for the people and allocate to individuals and organisations for residential among other
uses.
 The Governor’s task is supposed to be carried out with aid of an advisory Land Use and
Allocation Committee (LUAC). The LUAC is also to advise on matters related to
resettlement of persons affected by title revocation as well as determine dispute arising
from amount of compensation payable for improvement on land.
 The Act also vests in the Chairman of the Local Government all land that are not within
urban areas (i.e. rural) to hold in trust for the people. The Chairman is to be assisted by a
Land Allocation Advisory Committee (LAAC), which has responsibility for advising the
Local Government on any matter connected with management of land.
 The Land under the control and management of the Governor shall be administered,
where the land tenure law of former Northern Nigeria applies, in accordance with the

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 provisions of that Law (Northern Law); but in every other case, in accordance with the
provisions of the State Land Law applicable in respect of the State Land or land tenure
Law, as the case may be, with modifications as would bring those Laws into conformity
with this Act.
 It provides that the Governor shall have right to grant Statutory Right of Occupancy to
any person on all Lands (urban and rural) for all purposes. That grant may include
easement, appurtenance and demand for rentals (at specified intervals) as well as
revision of same, therewith.
 The Governor also has right to impose penal rent for breach of conditions related to
subsequent transactions on allocated lands (i.e. sale in part or whole, mortgage, transfer,
sublease or bequest) without Governor’s prior approval. vii. He is empowered to waive
any of the conditions attached to the Statutory Right of Occupancy in certain special
circumstances or extend the time required of any holder of a Statutory Right of
Occupancy to perform any of the conditions attached therewith.
 It provides for Local Government Chairman to grant Customary Right of Occupancy to
any person or organisation over nonurban lands for agricultural (maximum 500
hectares), grazing (maximum 5000 hectares), residential and other purposes. This right
he has exclusively against all persons except the Governor.
 That the Governor reserves the right to grant Certificate of Occupancy at prescribed fees
(including for unexhausted improvement) and rent on both urban and non-urban lands
and application for same.
 He also has right to grant license to any person to enter unencumbered land (not above
400 Hectares and under other specified conditions) and remove or retract therefrom
construction materials such as stones, gravel, clay for building or manufacture of
building materials for a specified period.
 That he is also vested with the Right to waive or reduce the rent on Statutory Right of
Occupancy in public interest.
 Also granted is a Right to charge penal rent for breach of any covenant attached to
Statutory Right of Occupancy for a year; or increase such rent daily or revoke the title if
unremitted after the period.

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 Alienation by assignment, mortgage, transfer of possession, sublease of a Customary
Right of Occupancy in cases where property is to be sold by or under the Order of any
Court, shall be with the consent of the Governor but if otherwise, (not through Court
process) by the consent of appropriate Local Government.
 Alienation, in any form, of a Statutory Right of Occupancy is only valid by the consent
of the Governor.
 It shall be lawful for the Governor to revoke a Right of Occupancy (Statutory or
Customary) with adequate notices for overriding public interest.
 The holder or occupier of a property that is subject to revocation is entitled to
compensation to the tune of the value at the date of revocation of their unexhausted
improvement, crops or economic trees.
 Where a revocation affects a residential building, a discretional compensation can be in
the form of resettlement (i.e. reasonable alternative accommodation).
 There is transitional provision to ensure that any titleholder is made to comply with the
provisions of the Act as it does not affect his property, not cheated in the process nor is
government denied its own right.
 Provides that the Governor shall designate part of the area of the territory of the State as
Urban area.
 That no person is entitled to an allocation of any land for residential purpose in excess of
half a hectare.
 All land already in use before and after the Land Use Decree can be acquired by the
Government for overriding public interest through revocation of Right of Occupancy.
 Revocation on Right of Occupancy will be carried out whenever an occupier commits a
breach of some of the terms and conditions specified in the Certificate of Occupancy.
 Alienation of part or whole of any land title granted to an Occupier through assignment,
mortgage, sub-lease and transfer of possession, without the consent of the Governor, is
considered an offense, which may result to revocation of Right of Occupancy.
 All unused or vacant land, apart from farmlands under fallow from the date of the
Decree, belongs to the State Government as against any person or community.

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With the foregoing highlights of the provisions of the Land use Act, there is no gain-saying the

fact that it has far-reaching enabling yet restrictive implications for housing in Nigeria, given the

desire of Government to make unimpeded impact in the Sector, the fluid and pervading right to

shelter for all persons (with the population dynamics in Nigeria) against the limited outlets for

actualizing these provisions of the Law. (Mayo, S. K., & Gross, D. J. 1985).

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 CHAPTER THREE

3.1 Objectives of the 1978 Land Use Act of Nigeria

The Land Use Act was therefore designed to achieve the following objectives (Salami, 2014)
i. Make land easily accessible to all Nigerians
ii. Prevent speculative purchases of communal land
iii. Streamline and simplify the management and ownership of land
iv. Make land available to government at all levels for development
v. Provide the system of Government administration of rights that will improve tenure
security
If these objectives were achieved by the Act ultimately, the questions to be addressed is whether
the challenges posed by the Land use Act for housing and the overall investment in property
development were operation-induced or perpetrated by the provisions therein. (Matawal, D. S.,
2014).

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 CHAPTER FOUR

4.1 Challenges of the Land Use Act of 1978

Land Management Challenges Prior to the Land use Act Even with the establishment of the
power of eminent domain by the Land Acquisition (and Miscellaneous Provision) Decree of
1976, there were challenges encountered in the land management procedures. (Ajayi, 2013).

1. Resistance by Landowners: The material gains from sales and other transactions on
land owned by families or communities were enormous. Also, emotional, social and
institutional attachments to native lands were very strong, being the usual burial places of
ancestors among other considerations. Alienating such land to the Government’s power
of eminent domain, was resisted especially when it was felt that the monetary
compensation was going to be inadequate compared to what they were used to soliciting
from prospective developers. A noteworthy case of refusal to vacate land upon which
some form of compensation had been paid was the Ajiboye Village landowners who
refused to move from the University of Ibadan land on which compensation had been
paid since 1962 purportedly to the wrong family members. Until they were paid in 1983
and had to be partially evicted by the Police in 1985 (Ajayi, 2013), they were going to
stay put.
2. Exorbitant cost of Compensation Landowners: Especially in Southern Nigeria prior to
the Land Use Act usually demanded for compensation based on open market value for
any land acquisition by Government. This prompted the then Military Administration to
enact Decree 33 – the Public Acquisition (Miscellaneous Provisions), 1976, just two (2)
years ahead of the Land use Act. It put a maximum ceiling on compensation payable
cognisant of actual land price (as specified) and current bank interest rates (projected to
10 years) or the existing use value whichever was higher of the two.
3. Land Speculation: Having seen land as a quick means of economic gains, landowners
guarded them jealously in the face of serious fragmentation, making integrated planning
of large areas of urban settlements difficult. Attempts at consolidating such fragments
were viewed with suspicion, rising discontent and mistrust. Given the limitless size of

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 land that individuals could acquire prior to the Land Use Act, a few wealthy individuals
amassed large parcels of land to the detriment of the multitude of poor indigenes who
begrudged their not being engaged in major projects put up on such lands. This led to
socio-political differences, class and armed struggles especially in the sub-urban areas.
4. Double or Multiple Sale of Land: Family or inter-family differences over land were
externalised by various members of the families involved in selling particular parcels of
land or part thereof to different unwary parties. These compounded the land acquisition
problems and riddled many projects with crisis and litigation especially in Southern
Nigeria. IV.6 Simultaneous Operation of the Different Land Tenure Systems Inspite of
the coming into being of the Land use Act in 1978, various State Governments especially
from the present-day North Central Zone to the South of the Country could not phase out
the existing customary land tenure system prior to the Act. This was not only due to the
resistance from the land-owning families as highlighted but many State Governors, on
their part, were not able to pay the required compensation on existing properties or
economic trees on parcels of land proposed for major schemes.

5. Adoption of Private Layouts: Conscious of the foregoing fact, technocrats in some of

the affected States had encouraged what was popularly referred to as ‘adoption of private
layouts. This is a refined practice compared to ‘Invasion’, a common illegal and
spontaneous occupation of sub-urban areas followed by Government intervention to
engage in rejuvenation or land re-adjustment towards legalising the occupation as
common in some Latin American City-regions. This did not only lead to some confusion
in some States of Nigeria, the stoppage of the practice in some others, in furtherance of
the provision of the Land use Act, vesting the granting of Right to formally occupy any
land on the Governor or Local Government Chairman, led to a further increase in the
growth of slums – hence the subsequent high wave of demolition.

6. Others Includes: Government Intervention in the Housing Process, Direct Housing

Supply and Civil Servant Housing Schemes. (Anigbogu, 2014).

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 CHAPTER FIVE

5.1 Conclusion and Assertion

The Land use Act established a uniform Land Administration system in the Country with the aim
of making land easily available to all Nigerians for unhindered development. Its inability to
deliver on this requirement has manifested in the incapability of various measures and schemes
developed for housing delivery not have achieved the desired merits in coping with the
population dynamics and societal needs in housing and other socio-economic endeavours.
Among possible measures for redressing the situation are responsive review of the Act, changing
emphasis from land ownership to housing delivery, provision of legalized master plans and
structure plans to guide developments, review of plot sizes cognizant of infrastructure cost and
efficiency, information system and networking.

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