Private Property Rights and Compulsory Acquisition Process in Nigeria: the Past, Present and Future

• Author: Tunde Otubu
• Position: Lecturer; Department of Private and Property Law, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, Akoka, 234-01, Lagos State, Nigeria
• Pages: 5-28

Abstract: Objectives:

A pr

used, whether that resource i

authority of the land owne

acquisition is the process b y

purposes in the best interest

rights and compulsory acq

extinguishment of private pro

of mutual conflicts, resulting

Land Use

Act 1978. With th

acquisition to the detriment

occasioned by exprop riation

rights and compulsory acquis

the Land Use Act changed t

skewed and unfavorable res

proposed a new equitable arr

Keywords: land;

property rig

1. Introduction

Sustainable developme

infrastructure that ensu

economic enhancement

A proper step in the pr

acquisition of appropria

available or on sale at

1

LLB, LLM M. Phil BL,

University of Lagos, Akoka

493.2660. Corresponding aut

2

LAND TENURE

STUDIES

ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/0

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Private Property Rights and Com

Acquisition Process in Nigeria: th

Present and Future

Akintunde OTUBU

1

property right is the exclusive authority to determine how

e is owned by government or b y individuals. In the context of

ner to determine its use or otherwise. On the other h

and

by which government o btain land from private owners for

rest of the community. These diametrically opposed concept

acquisition is reconciled

with the payment of compensa

property rights.

Implications:

In Nigeria, these two concepts h

ing in congruous resolutions most of the time, until th e introd

h the coming of the Act, the pendulum has tilted in favors o

ent of private p roperty rights; as compensation fails to assu

ion.

Value: The paper explored the dichotomy b

etween pri

uisition in Nigeria in the last 50

years and submitted that the

d the equilibrium that existed between these two concepts an

result to

the detriment of private right s and National econo

arrangement to the quagmire.

rights

; compulsory acquisition; compensation; constitution

ment

requires

governments to provide public fac

nsure safety and security, health and welfare,

ent, and protection and restoration of the natural en

process of providing these fac

ilities and infrastruc

riate land.

2

However, land is scarce and the land m

at the time it is required. Therefore, in order to o

BL, Lecturer; Department of Private and Property Law, Fac

ka, 23 4

-01, Lagos State, Nigeria. Tel.: +2 34(1) 493.2660-

1,

author: bullet20042003@yahoo.com.

IES

10 Compulsory acquisitions of land

and compensation

/011/i0506e/i0506e00.pdf

accessed 16/04/2012

JURIDICA

5

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ompulsory

: the Past,

w a resource is

of land, it is the

nd, compulsory

for development

epts of property

nsation for the

ts have a history

roduction of the

s of compulsory

ssuage the loss

private property

he process under

and produced a

nomy. It finally

facilities and

e, social and

environment.

tructure is the

d may not be

o obtain land

aculty of Law,

1, fax: +234(1)

on

. Available at

ACTA UNIVERSITATIS DANUBIUS Vol. 8, no. 3/2012

6

when and where it is needed, governments have the power of compulsory

acquisition of land: they can compel owners to sell their land in order for it to be

used for specific purposes. The exercise of this government power necessarily

brings losses to the affected individual(s), which at times go beyond the economic

loss of the land and include social, religious and cultural loss.

1

It thus requires

finding the balance between the public need for land on the one hand and the

provision of land tenure security and the protection of private property rights on the

other hand.

2

To assuage the loss, the government provides compensation to the affected

person(s) which compensation is mostly inadequate. However, even when

compensation is generous and procedures are generally fair and efficient, the

displacement of people from established homes, businesses and communities will

still entail significant human costs. It is therefore important to give imprimatur to

the steps and procedure for compulsory acquisition and fundamentally to the

compensation offered to the affected victims in order to provide a just and

equitable governance and social justice to all.

Lately, government use of compulsory acquisition and land use control powers

appears to be increasing worldwide as the desire for public facilities and supporting

infrastructures and the competition for usable and livable space intensifies. The

need for large, relatively undeveloped areas for agriculture and conservation often

competes with the government's obligation to provide land zoned for residential

purposes, commercial and industrial development, and other largely urban uses.

3

Urbanization drives the demand for buildings and highways, rapid transit systems,

and airports, but the free market does not always result in a logical and equitable

distribution of land use.

In the light of the foregoing this paper sets out to examine the concepts, philosophy

and rational of compulsory acquisition of land and compensation in Nigeria from

the historical perspective whilst highlighting the policy changes in the process and

advocating the need for policy shift in the current legal and administrative

arrangement.

1

Nkosi. Z, Sp irituality, Land and Land Reform in South Africa available at: http://www.wcc-

coe.org/wcc/what/jpc/echoes-16-05 accessed 16/04/2012.

2

Supra n.2

3

Tsuyoshi K &, David L. C. Taking Land: Compulsory Purchase and Regulation in Asian-Pacific

Countries University of Hawaii Press 2002, p3