The Land Law Every Nigerian Property Owner Should Know

Most Nigerian property owners believe they own their land. In the strict legal sense, under the framework that has governed every piece of ground in this country since 1978, that belief is incomplete. The Land Use Act is the single most consequential piece of legislation in Nigerian real estate, and understanding it is not optional for anyone who has bought, inherited, developed or plans to sell property in Nigeria. More urgently, understanding the specific power it gives the government to take that property, and what your rights are when it does, could be the difference between receiving fair compensation and receiving nothing at all. At TheHouse48, this is a conversation that needs to happen far more widely than it currently does.

What the Land Use Act Actually Says About Who Owns Your Land

The foundational provision of the Land Use Act of 1978 is unambiguous and frequently misunderstood. Section 1 of the Act vests all land in the territory of each state in the Governor of that state, to be held in trust and administered for the use and common benefit of all Nigerians. What this means in practical terms is that no individual, company or family in Nigeria holds freehold ownership of land in the absolute sense that the term implies in the UK or the US. What every property owner in Nigeria holds is a right of occupancy, a statutory right to use and develop land granted by the state for a term of up to 99 years in urban areas, subject to conditions and revocable under defined circumstances. The Certificate of Occupancy is not a title to land in the freehold sense. It is the strongest available evidence of that statutory right, and it is the only document that Nigerian banks will accept as collateral for mortgage financing. This is a fundamentally different kind of ownership from what most buyers believe they are acquiring.

The Revocation Power and When the Government Can Use It

Section 28 of the Land Use Act is the provision every property owner must read and understand. It empowers the Governor of a state to revoke a right of occupancy for overriding public interest, which the Act defines to include the alienation of land by a community or family without following the appropriate lawful channels, the requirement of the land for use in connection with public roads and public infrastructure, or the requirement of the land for mining purposes or for oil pipelines. The critical phrase is overriding public interest. Courts have interpreted this broadly enough to encompass a wide range of government purposes, and in the Sokoto Local Government case, the courts confirmed that a compulsory acquisition for the purpose of expanding a cattle market was legal and within the contemplation of the Act. A property that was legally acquired, fully developed and properly titled is not immune from government acquisition under this framework. What the law requires is that notice of acquisition must be given to the holder of the land under Section 28(6) before revocation takes effect, and that prompt payment of compensation must follow.

The Compensation Reality That Angers Most Affected Owners

This is where the framework becomes most consequential for affected property owners. Section 44 of the 1999 Constitution guarantees that no property shall be acquired compulsorily without prompt payment of compensation and the right of access to a court to determine the amount. What the Land Use Act's compensation framework historically provided, however, was compensation for the value of unexhausted improvements on the land, meaning the buildings and developments, rather than the market value of the land itself. Under this framework, a property owner whose plot in a prime location was compulsorily acquired could receive compensation that reflected only the depreciated value of the building on the land, not the land value that may have multiplied many times since the Certificate of Occupancy was originally granted. Current legislative proposals under active discussion in the National Assembly in 2026 specifically target this injustice, with proposed amendments to ensure that if the government revokes your land, compensation is paid at current market value of the land itself, not just the improvements. Those proposals have not yet passed, meaning the current compensation framework remains the operative one.

What the 2025 and 2026 Reform Landscape Looks Like

The call for reform of the Land Use Act has moved from academic debate into active legislative discussion as of 2025 and 2026. The primary barrier to reform is structural: the Act is entrenched in the 1999 Constitution, meaning any amendment requires a constitutional amendment process through the National Assembly rather than ordinary legislation. In late 2025, the Federal Government inaugurated Land Reform Task Teams specifically to streamline land administration, and there is active legislative momentum toward a National Land Commission that would standardise land management across all 36 states. Proposals under discussion include a move toward a unified digital National Land Registry to replace the fragmented state-level systems where files go missing, and a reform of the Governor's Consent process to make it an administrative procedure rather than a political one, potentially reducing the timeline from years to weeks. None of these reforms have been enacted as of mid-2026, but the direction of travel is the clearest it has been since the Act was introduced.

What Every Property Owner Should Do Right Now

The practical response to understanding this framework is not panic but preparation. Verifying that your Certificate of Occupancy has been properly perfected through stamping, consent and registration at the relevant state land bureau is the foundational step. Using the e-GIS portal in Lagos or the AGIS system in Abuja to check whether any government acquisition notice has been registered against your plot costs nothing and should be done before any significant capital expenditure on a property. Understanding your compensation rights under Section 44 of the Constitution and the Land Use Act means that if a revocation notice ever arrives, you are not negotiating from a position of ignorance. And ensuring that the title you hold reflects the most current ownership through properly completed transfers, with Governor's Consent obtained for every change of hands, gives you the strongest available legal standing if the acquisition power is ever exercised against your land.

TheHouse48 believes that the most valuable thing a Nigerian property owner can hold alongside their Certificate of Occupancy is a clear understanding of what that document actually represents, what the government can do with the land it covers and what you are entitled to demand if they do it.