REPUGNANCY OF THE REPUGNANCY TEST; RE. CUSTOMARY RIGHTS OF INHERITANCE OF PROPERTY IN NIGERIAN URBAN AREAS VERSUS JURISDICTION OF THE COURTS

Abstract

The Land Use Act promulgated in 1978 was intended to control ownership and use of land in Nigeria, the primary focus and the mischief it was meant to cure was to divest absolute ownership of land from original landowners, but rather vest such right in the state governors who shall hold land in the state in trust for every citizen of that state. This paved the way for easy access to land by government for public purposes. The implementation and application of the provisions of the law, no doubt will clash with the interests of the existing customs on possessory interests in land. The appellate courts interpreted the sections of the Act in such a way that the jurisdiction of the customary courts got fettered to a point where the latter was excluded from determining the customary rights of inheritance inhered in properties in urban areas where the owner died intestate. This paper disagreed with such decisions. It concluded that though the High Courts have exclusive jurisdiction to determine issues of title, statutory right of occupancy and compensation payable for land acquisitions in urban areas, it shares a concurrent jurisdiction with the customary court on matters of customary rights of inheritance in respect of such properties in urban areas where the deceased died intestate.