The Anti-Land Grabbing Law of Ogun State – Its Effect on Land Acquisition, Land Surveying, and the General Public

By Dr Ohio O. Ojeagbase 

In a paper delivered by Honourable Justice Abiodun A. Akinyemi at the Public Lecture organised by the Association of Private Practising Surveyors of Nigeria (Ogun State branch), on Thursday, the 10th of February, 2022, at Abeokuta.

INTRODUCTION

Land is a highly coveted asset.

All over the world, individuals, communities and even nations, attach so much importance to it, because of the vital role it plays in human existence. Man is by nature, a land animal, therefore, without land, he cannot survive. He cannot live in water, or in the sky, but on land. Land is his natural habitat, where he lives and earns his livelihood. Therefore, land is crucial to his existence.

Man is created to have dominion over land. This perhaps explains his fixation with land, hence, his natural instinct to possess and control land, at all cost. Unfortunately, untamed nature and unbridled natural predatory instincts are not always to the benefit of man himself, as it is bound to create more chaos than order, and more harm than good, contrary to the Order of the Creator. Control and possession of land by man is divinely ordained to be orderly, if man is to enjoy the fulness of God’s greatest natural gift to him. That is why Laws exists, to help man tame his natural instincts, including his obsession to possess and control land selfishly, to thee detriment of others.

Land is a symbol of social status, whether in the traditional or modern African society. Its ownership is generally seen as evidence of prosperity. Therefore, many will go to any length to acquire it, so as to be considered among the wealthy and propertied class.

Land availability is critical to the socio-economic development of any society, more so in a state like Ogun, where land is about the most prominent natural resource that the people are blessed with.

With her proximity to Lagos, the economic and commercial capital of Nigeria, and the scarcity and relatively high prices of land in Lagos, land in Ogun State has become a prime asset, chased after, not only by individuals wanting to build their personal houses, but also by business organisations intending to set up factories and business premises, at affordable prices. Unfortunately, the nuisance created by land thugs and unscrupulous land vendors, has become a serious menace and disincentive to the realisation of this dream by many.

Land has become, not just a revenue-yielding resource for its owners, including government, but also a conflict generating factor, to the society at large, arising from the struggle to own or exercise control over a portion of it.

In the olden days, conflict arising from land was easily resolved traditionally, through the intervention of traditional rulers, community heads and respected elders, through the mechanism known as Customary Arbitration, the forerunner of what the world today knows as ADR-Alternative Dispute Resolution. Blood-letting violence was rare, although in few instances, communities went to war over land, especially in the South-Western and South Eastern parts of the Country. Indeed, some of these communal wars over land, are still with us today, notwithstanding intermittent ceasefires. But the scale of forceful dispossession of people of their lands and the use of miscreants and thugs, notoriously referred to as ‘Ajagungbales’, has become brazenly accentuated in recent years, giving serious cause for concern. Many individuals have been maimed, or even lost their lives, by merely daring to visit lands purchased by them, on which armed thugs have been stationed by other people rightly or wrongfully contesting the ownership. Families and communities have lost vital properties to invading land thugs. Even land surveyors, engaged to carry out legitimate professional duties, have been attacked, maimed, kidnapped and even killed by land thugs or rival claimants, for no just cause, and sometimes, without effective repercussions. Embarrassingly, the activities of these land miscreants are not always limited to private land, but are sometimes extended to government -allocated land.

SOME CAUSES OF LAND DISPUTES
The following are some of the reasons why land disputes are rampant in our society, creating room for the nefarious activities of landgrabbers:

1. SCARCITY OF LAND
The demand for land clearly outstrips its availability, especially in urban areas. As is usual in such situations, might over right, became the unwritten code, creating room and advantage for those who are more disposed to the use of force and violence, over the law-abiding.

2. UNTITLED AND UNREGISTERED LAND
Most of the land in Nigeria is untitled and unregistered. There is no register of titles, in which investigated, determined and verified proprietary rights and interests in all land in the state, with the names of their ascertained owners, are recorded. If we had that, all that anyone interested in buying land in any part of the state, including villages, will need to do, would be to simply conduct a search in that register, and he will find the history and ownership details of the land he intends to buy. Also, if we had that, a surveyor, engaged to survey a piece of land, only needs to conduct a search in the register of titles, to be sure that the person who has engaged him, is the legally registered and ascertained owner of the land, so as to save himself from unnecessary attacks. Instead, what we have is a register of land instruments, which merely records documents that are used in land transactions, such as deeds of conveyance, deeds of assignment, certificate of occupancy, power of attorney, etc. These documents are mere evidence of land transactions between one person claiming to be the owner and another claiming to be the purchaser. They do not give an assurance that the title so claimed in them truly and genuinely belongs to the so-called vendor. Only a register of titles can do that. Unfortunately, we do not have it. That is why you have situations in which holding a certificate of occupancy today, is not a guarantee that your title is genuine. Even someone without a single document can legally defeat your claim of ownership to the land, notwithstanding your certificate of occupancy. The detail of this, is outside the purview of this paper. Suffice only to say that because most of our land is untitled and unregistered, proper pre-purchase title investigation by prospective purchasers is impossible. So, despite the best of caution, you may still end up with a disputed title, and being forcibly and violently ejected from the land that you paid so much for.

3. UNCERTAIN AND UNDEFINED BOUNDARIES
Whether genuinely or mischievously, many land owners do not know the exact boundaries of their land, especially with old natural boundary marks disappearing and being disputed. Even in this time and age, some still fail to take advantage of modern surveying, which helps to provide an accurate description of land. Although it is possible to succeed in prosecuting a land case without having a survey plan, (provided you can give a clear and unambiguous description of it, and by calling your boundary men as witnesses), there is no better substitute to having a properly prepared survey plan, by a licensed or registered surveyor. Absence of proper layout plans, may also lead to the alienation of the same plot of land to more than one purchaser, leading to dispute between two or more purchasers.

4. MULTIPLE SALE OF LAND
Some land-owning families are notorious for knowingly selling the same land to more than one purchaser, thus creating conflicts. Sometimes, a sale done by older members of a family, is denied by younger members of the same family, in order to fleece the purchaser of more money, or re-sell the same land to another purchaser who is willing to pay a higher price. Sometimes, it is a case of land agents and those who engaged them, selling the same land to different purchasers, thereby creating conflicts that result in violent efforts by one purchaser against the other, to take possession. Unfortunately, this problem is not limited to private land. Even government allocations suffer this fate, due either to poor record keeping, corruption, incompetence or lack of diligence, on the part of those vested with official responsibilities.

5. INEFFECTIVENESS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LAND USE ACT

While the Land Use Act has noble intentions, its implementation has not largely achieved the desired results. Most of the mischief in land transactions intended to be cured by the Act are still with us today, principal amongst which, is in accessibility to land by genuine investors. Many genuine investors and private individuals still find it hard to have easy access to trouble-free land. The effrontery of landgrabbers and the notorious activities of many land vendors is a testimony to the failure of the Land Use Act, in this respect. Acquisition of land, even from government, is still a nightmare, not to talk of purchases from private owners. The failure of government to properly and effectively implement the provisions of the Land Use Act, is what has largely contributed to, and encouraged the menace of land grabbing and dubious land vendors. Indeed, landgrabbers are effectively selling government acquired and government allocated land in many parts of the state, as if in celebration of the failure of the provisions of the Land Use Act. Many people allocated land by government, are unable to take physical possession, after several years, even after paying and meeting all requirements.

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5. ORAL HISTORY
Customary land ownership is founded predominantly, on traditional oral history, passed down from generation to generation, dating back sometimes, to time beyond human memory. As the history of the land is passed down, memories fail, and distortions occur. Imposters, or land grabbers, take advantage of this, and somehow, re-tell the story, locating themselves within a family that they really have no connection with, thereby laying claim to land that never belonged to their ancestors. When a court is confronted with competing evidence of traditional history, it is enjoined by law, to decide in favor of the party whose version appears more credible and probable. Unfortunately, an impostor may be able to tell a more convincing story than the genuine owner, and end up with a judgment in his favour against the genuine owner, whose story is true, but badly or incoherently told to the court.

THE “PROHIBITION OF FORCIBLE OCCUPATION OF LANDED PROPERTIES, ARMED ROBBERY, KIDNAPPING, CULTISM AND OTHER ANTI-VIOLENCE AND RELATED OFFENCES LAW 2016”, OF OGUN STATE.

The Law was passed in 2016, with a commencement date of November 14, 2016. As can be seen from its title, it covers much more than land-related crimes, though, it has become more known in respect of land related crimes. Indeed, it is more popularly referred to as the ‘Anti-Land Grabbing Law’. The simple rationale behind the law, (contained in Part 1 of it, comprising of Sections 3 to 14), is to put an end to, or reduce to the barest minimum, land-related violence. Generally, our laws frown at self-help, even where the one resorting to it, has a legitimate right to assert or protect. In a society governed by law, no one, howsoever highly placed, is expected to take the law into his own hands, no matter the level of his hurt.

Going through the Law, it can also be seen that it is an attempt to remedy some of the loopholes in land litigation, usually exploited by mischievous litigants, to foist a ‘fait accompli’ upon the courts, or frustrate their opponents through technicalities and long delays. It is a notorious fact that land litigation drags, despite judicial best efforts, and some litigants take advantage of this, to harass and intimidate their opponents, forcing some to abandon their claims out of fear or harm. The fact that the Law Enforcement Agencies have no power to intervene in land disputes, provides added comfort to land grabbers to inflict acts of violence and intimidation on their weaker opponents. By criminalising the activities of these group of people backed with strict sanctions, the Law evinces a clear intention to deal decisively with this evil.

The House of Assembly under the leadership of the Rt Hon Speaker, Prince Olakunle Taiwo Oluomo and the Ministry of Justice, under the leadership of the then Hon Attorney-General, Dr Olumide Ayeni SAN, must be commended for their bold initiative and collaborative efforts in ensuring the passage of the law. Although Lagos State was the first to pass a similar law, that of Ogun State has been generally acknowledged to be more far-reaching, and a few other states have actually copied the Ogun State version.

PROVISIONS OF THE LAW AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS
The provisions dealing with land grabbing are to be found in sections 3 to 14 of the Law. However, time will only permit me to speak elaborately on a few of them, while I will comment generally on the others.

Let me start with how the Law in Section 1, defines certain words and terms:

1. “Agent” means a person who acts or purports to act on behalf of any party to a real property transaction, whether in respect of a sale, lease, license, mortgage or other dealings or disposal of or relating to the property including any person engaged for the purpose of forceful take over or sale of a landed property.”
2. “Land Grabbers/Ajagungbales” means hoodlums, thugs, miscreants, touts, or any person who parade themselves as land owners without having title to the property.”
3. “Landed Property” or “Property” includes a parcel of land, farmland, whether actively in use or not, an improvement building, any ancillary to a building, the site comprising any building or buildings together with any land ancillary thereto and any other place.”
4. “Lawful Occupation” means control of a property as recognized by Law.”
5. “Offensive Weapon” includes any article inclusive of firearms within the meaning of this Law made or adopted for the use of attacking, causing aggravation or injury to a person or intended by the person having it or being in possession of it for such use by him including an air gun, air pistol, bow and arrow, spear, cutlass, knife, matchet, dagger, cudgel, or any piece or wood, metal glass or stone capable of being used as an offensive weapon to cause bodily injury or harm.”
6. “Trespasser” means any person who intrudes on the property of another without permission or any lawful reason or authority.”
7. “Violent” means a turbulent state resulting in injury or death or destruction to person or property.”

FORCEFUL TAKEOVER OF LAND
This is one of the evils that the law aims to eradicate.

Section 3 which deals with it, provides as follows:
(1) As from the commencement of this Law, no person or group of persons shall use force to take over any Landed Property in the State.
(2) Any person or group of persons who having used force to take over a Landed Property in the State from the commencement of this Law is guilty of an offence.
(3) Any person or group of persons that contravenes any of the provisions of Sub-sections (1) and (2) of this section shall on conviction be liable to a term of Twenty-One (21) years.

IMPLICATIONS
• Whether you are a land owner or the agent of a land owner, if you use force to take possession of any land from anyone, whether the person is rightfully or wrongfully on the land, you risk going to jail for 21 years, if charged and found guilty, under this law.
• It does not matter that you are the genuine owner of the land or that the person you are forcefully ejecting is a trespasser. This is the law of Ogun State

Report All Forms Of Land Scams, Land Grabbing and other Financial Frauds to KREENO on WhatsApp +234 802 363 9830 or info@kreenoholdings.com

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