FAMILY LAND HOLDING IN NIGERIA: AN APPRAISAL OF THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK.

OKORONKWO, UZOMA FAITH (2026) FAMILY LAND HOLDING IN NIGERIA: AN APPRAISAL OF THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK. Other thesis, Godfrey Okoye University, Enugu.

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Abstract

Family land remains an important form of customary ownership because it preserves ancestral property and it also provides social and economic security for family members. Nevertheless, its regulation is complicated because of the interaction between customary and statutory law. Thus, the study examines the extant laws and institutions which regulate family land holding and identifies the challenges which affect their operation. Methodologically, the study is doctrinal. It relies on statutes, judicial decisions, textbooks and journal articles. The study finds that family land holding is regulated by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, the Land Use Act 1978, the Evidence Act 2011, customary law and judicial precedent. It further finds that courts, land registries, government land agencies, family councils and traditional institutions perform regulate and resolve disputes. However, the existing framework is weakened by conflicts between customary and statutory requirements, uncertainty concerning the identification and consent of family heads and principal members, inadequate documentation and registration, fraudulent and multiple sales, administrative delays, expensive litigation, discriminatory inheritance practices and inadequate compensation following compulsory acquisition. The study concludes that the major problem is not that land holding exist. Rather, it is that there is no clear, coordinated and safeguards for administration within the legal system in Nigeria. It recommends that customary and statutory requirements should be harmonised, transactions on family land should be documented, registers for family land should be created, land registration should be decentralised and digitalised, the rules should be clear for consent and representation, the rights of women and vulnerable member of the family should be protected, the compensation for compulsory acquisition should also be transparent.

Item Type:	Thesis (Other)
Subjects:	K Law > K Law (General)
Divisions:	Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences > School of Law
Depositing User:	COMFORT AJALA
Date Deposited:	24 Jul 2026 13:26
Last Modified:	24 Jul 2026 13:26
URI:	http://eprints.gouni.edu.ng/id/eprint/5984

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