Title ABC of Contemporary Land Law in Nigeria
Author I. A. Umezulike
Published 2013
ISBN 9789102275, 9789789102273
Price: NGN 8000
Length 500 pages
The only recognizable system of Land
Tenure in the geographical area now known as Nigeria was the Customary Land Tenure
System. This was the only known indigenous system of land tenure. It is a system of
accepted practice amongst the people, well recognized and enforced and regarded as “a
mirror of accepted usage”
This
customary system of land tenure is all embracing and it defines, the rights, privileges,
interests and title that may be enjoyed on land under customary law. According to the book,
the system though had to make way for modern influence especially the introduction of
British system of land tenure and legislative amendments principally due to the failure of
the customary land tenure to accommodate the growing economic and political
developments in the country; it is still largely recognized as the law governing land
holdings amongst the people who hold their land subject to the customary land tenure. In
effect in spite of the two main great influences on the customary land tenure i.e. Received English laws and local legislation, the customary land tenure still governs the interests on
land held by the people who agree or hold land subject to Native Law and Custom.
In this course, we shall examine the customary land tenure system in Nigeria.