Land acquisition is the legal
process of acquiring lands (vacant or inhabited) of Individual citizens or
organization by the government or its agencies for any legal purpose.
v MODES OF ACQUISITION
The mode of acquisition of title to a land is very important. This is
because in an action for declaration of title to land, the claimant must be
able to trace his title to the original owner. He must not only prove the title
through his predecessor in title, he must also prove a valid transfer of the
interest to him.
Title to land may be either original or
derivative. An original title is one
that is the very root, and not derived from any other source, it is the
foundation of the title beyond which there is no other title.
1.
SUCCESSION: An individual may acquire interest in
land by way of succession
either testate or intestate.
a.
WILLS: An
owner of land or a holder of any interest in land has always had the freedom,
subject to certain qualifications to dispose his property by will.
Two
of these qualifications may be briefly mentioned here:-
i.
A
testator cannot by will confer any interest in family land on his beneficiary.
This is because the interest in the family land does not belong to the testator;
ii.
A
land that is encumbered i.e. by way of a mortgage can only devolve on a
beneficiary subject to the encumbrance.
It is important to mention that the
applicable laws in the Nigerian Legal system are a combination of received
English laws, local laws (legislative enactments), customary laws and judicial
precedents. Consequently the jurisprudence of estate planning in Nigeria is
construed in line with the above laws. Some of the formalities of making a
valid Will are provided in Section 9 of
the Wills Act of 1837 (which is a statute of general application in Nigeria).
The provisions of S.4 of the Wills Law of Lagos State Cap W2 20042
(hereinafter called Wills Law) provide thus: No Will Shall Be Valid Unless:
a. It shall be in writing;
b. It is signed by the Testator or
signed in his presence and by his direction, in such place of the Will so that
it is apparent on the face of the Will that the Testator intended to give
effect to the signature to the writing signed as his Will.
c. The Testator makes or acknowledges
the signature in the presence of at least 2 witnesses present at the same time.
d. The witnesses attest and subscribe
the Will in the presence of the Testator but no form of attestation or
publication shall be required.
e. No signature under this section or
under any other provision of this law shall be operative to give effect to any
disposition or direction which is underneath or follows, nor shall it give
effect to any disposition or direction inserted after the signature shall have
been made
2. SETTLEMENT: This connotes the person who first
settled on a particular parcel of land free from any other adverse claim, such
first settler is recognized in law as the owner thereof. The settler may be a
family or community or even individual, the title is established as an absolute
one.
In the case of OWONYIN V OMOTOSHO (1962) W.N.L.R 1,
the court held, “But ownership or title must go to the first settler in the
absence of any evidence that they jointly settled on the land or that a grant
of joint ownership was made to the later arrival by the first. The question,
therefore, resolves itself to this – who was the first settler on the land”…
The first settler must prove that at the time of first settlement that there
was no other claimant or settler on the land. Where the first settler merely
settled on land and later abandons it without laying claim to any portion of
the land, he cannot later come back to claim ownership.
Today, it may not be easy for anyone to
assert that he acquired the land by settlement as no land in Nigeria is free of
settlement. To successfully prove ownership under customary law today, the
claimant must be able trace his title to the first settler on the land,
inability to do this may be fatal to his claim.
v LAND
ACQUISITION FROM THE GOVERNMENT
One of the most viable investments in
Lagos is owning a landed property and a lot of people endeavor to accomplish
this dream, but one must not be too keen, because many have been swindle in
false land acquisition transactions.
All land in a State is vested in the
State Governor who may grant rights of occupancy to any person for all
purposes. A prospective land investor may therefore apply to the Governor of
the State where the target property is located for the grant of a right of
occupancy. (Such rights of occupancy granted, by State governors, are termed 'statutory rights of occupancy.')
Section 8 of the Act provides that a
statutory right of occupancy shall be for a definite term. The right of
occupancy is therefore in the nature of a lease over the land for a period of
time, usually 99 years.
The Act does not place a limit to the area of the land in respect of which a
right of occupancy may be granted for building purposes.
Local Governments may grant 'customary
rights of occupancy' where the land in question is not in an urban area. An
agency of the Federal Government, as distinct from the Government itself, may
also alienate its interest in any of its landed properties. The procedure
involves applying formally to the particular Government, or any appropriate
agency, for the issuance of a right of occupancy.
The discretion whether to grant or refuse
to grant this interest rests completely with the Government. When granting the
right of occupancy the Governor or Local Government issues a Certificate of
Occupancy in evidence of the grant. However, other documents are sometimes
issued, which are nonetheless valid.
v LAND
ACQUISITION BY THE GOVERNMENT
By virtue of the Public
Lands Acquisition Law, the state government may acquire land compulsorily for
public purpose from individual land owners subject to the payment of
compensation to such landowners. The notice of acquisition by the government
must be served on the land owner as the courts have consistently held that non
service of the Notice of Acquisition would
render the acquisition invalid.
It must be noted that the
acquisition of private individuals’ interest in land can only be done by the
government for public purpose as any acquisition not done for public purpose
will be declared invalid by the courts on being challenged.
The courts have in the past
declared as invalid:
1. The
acquisition of some plots of land later leased by the government to a private
company for the development of a hotel;
2. The
acquisition of some plots of land by the government for the further development
of a church. In Belo vs. Diocesan Synod of
Lagos (1973) 3SC 103 a notice of acquisition was declared null and void because the
land was acquired by the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation for
the development and expansion of a church.
Furthermore, as the Notice
of Acquisition represents a constructive notice to the whole world, there is
need for members of the public desirous of purchasing land to confirm through a
solicitor, whether the land/property they are purchasing is under government
acquisition. While it is true that government may decide to excise some area from the already
acquired land area, prospective land purchasers must ensure that such excision
and the precise areas properly gazette.
v
REQUIREMENTS FOR LAND TITLE REGISTRATION IN LAGOS
STATE.
"Perfection
of Land Title" in Lagos State simply means registering a title (or
interest in a property) with the government. When purchasing a property in
Lagos, to be sure that what is being bought is genuine and will not be sold to
anyone else after making payments, it is important for the buyer of the
property to obtain proper title if none existed before, or perfect the title if
the one already exist in the buyer’s favour.
The
following are required for an appropriate Title registration;
1. Legislation: The
Land Registry Directorate is a very sensitive part of the Bureau that is
saddled with the responsibility of keeping an up-to-date record of all land
transactions in the State. It is the only Agency of Government that is
statutorily empowered to store registered documents relating to land virtue of:
a.
Land Instrument and Registration Law,
CAP L58 (Laws of Lagos State 2003)
b.
Registration of Titles Law, Cap 4 (Laws
of Lagos State 2003)
c.
Registered Land Law, Cap R1 ( Laws of
Lagos State 2003)
d.
Registration of Titles Law, (Laws of
Lagos State 2015)
2. Cadastral survey: This
is the sub-field of surveying that
specializes in the establishment and re-establishment of real property boundaries.
It is an important component of the legal creation of properties. Land
administration in Nigeria must of necessity involve a cadastral input; since
land must be discussed in terms of location, size, shape, ownership rights and
encumbrances.
3. Land adjudication: This is
the process of final and authoritative determination of the existing rights and
claims of people to land.
v 5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE LAGOS STATE LANDS REGISTRATION LAW.
The
simplicity with which Title to real properties is perfected enhances the
property rights enjoyed by private persons as well as corporate in any country.
Land acquisition and security of title and interest in land (as guaranteed by
perfection of title), is fundamental to the harnessing of investments, expansion
of businesses and the growth of economies.
1.
When was it enacted?
The Lagos State Land
Registration Law was enacted on 21st January, 2015. It became
the comprehensive legislation on land registration and replaced all the
previous legislation on the matter. Therefore, the Registered Land Law,
Registration of Titles Law, Land Instruments Registration Law and Electronic
Documents Management Systems Law have all been repealed. However, any title or
rights registered under the said repealed laws remain valid.
2. Why it was enacted?
The law was enacted to strengthen
the hand of Government in the administration of the Land Use Act and to enable
Lagosians have easy access to register their proprietary interest in land
effortlessly.
3. Lagos State Land Registry:
The land registry in Lagos is
currently the most developed land registry in Nigeria. The registration of
instruments affecting land in Lagos dates back to 1863 which was a paper based
system, and has now been improved to an Electronic Document Management Solution (EDMS), because of the problem of storage facilities
and rampant corruption.
4. Efficiency of the Law:
The law seeks to guarantee
genuine land title documents that have been investigated and registered by the
Registrar of Titles. The law further encouraged all those involved in any land
transaction to investigate the validity of the title documents of the land at
the appropriate land registry where there exists a copy of the registered title
document of the land before embarking on concluding the deal.
5.
The aim of the law:
It is to substitute a single
established title guaranteed by the state for the traditional title which must
be separately investigated before purchase. And, must be proved by several
documents of title each time the title is in issue. Transactions in respect of
registered land such as leases, creation of charges and transfer of interest in
land are also required to be registered.
v
BENEFITS OF EFFICIENT LAND REGISTRATION SYSTEM IN
LAGOS STATE.
1.
Encourage business and commerce flourish which may contribute to the
alleviation of poverty in the state.
2.
Improve the revenue generated for the state budget with direct impact on
various sectors of state service delivery such as health, education and environmental
protection.
3.
Provides larger and more effective storage facility for documentation
and safekeeping.
4.
Ease of Access; Online Availability and Registration Procedures that are
straight forward.
5.
The registry has been transformed
by the introduction of the EDMS and the associated changes.
6.
Availability of industrial
photocopiers which contain a backup system that can cope with large volumes of
Certified True Copies of documents has increased the effectiveness and service
delivery. Alongside the establishment of the EDMS, progress has been made in
the production of digital base maps to provide accurate and up to date information.
v CHALLENGES OF LAND TITLE REGISTRATION IN LAGOS STATE.
1.
Propensity to commit fraud by
stakeholders in land registration.
2.
Inadequate funding of the land registry.
3.
Non-capturing of all parcels of land in the
state through proper and efficient cadastral surveys.
4.
Non recognition of title registration, indeed
emphasis is placed on deed registration.
5.
Non anticipation of technological advancement
that makes EDMS less reliable in this modern world.
6.
Non recognition of land administration experts
such as Estate Surveyors and Valuers as Registrars of Titles.
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