THE STATUS OF CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY UNDER THE LAND REGISTRATION LAW 2015 OF LAGOS STATE: A WAKE-UP CALL ON OTHER STATES IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The Land Use Act 1978 has made right of occupancy granted or deemed granted by the state the highest interest one can enjoy over land and has also given the state governors the power to issue certificate of occupancy in recognition of such right of occupancy. Unlike the other states in Nigeria, the newly enacted Lagos State Land Registration Law 2015 has expressly incorporated certificate of occupancy within the definition of document capable of being registered. The aim of the study was to examine the provisions of the Lagos State Land Registration Law 2015 as it relates to certificate of occupancy. The objectives of the work were to expose the lapses in the Land Instruments Registration Laws of the other states of Nigeria relating to certificate of occupancy and to harp on the need to upgrade these laws in line with that of Lagos State in this regard. This work used doctrinal method of legal research by which facts were gathered from legislations and case laws as well as law textbooks. It was found that the Lagos State Land Registration Law 2015 defined registrable document to include certificate of occupancy unlike the applicable laws in other states of Nigeria. The study also found that unlike the other states of Nigeria, the effect of registration of instrument or documents is that registration will operate as evidence of the holding of the land. Consequently, this research work recommended that other states of Nigeria should upgrade their Land Instruments Registration Laws in line with that of Lagos State to provide expressly that certificate of occupancy is a registrable instrument and that registration will have the effect of operating as evidence of the holding of the land it relates to.