Section 5-15 of the Land Use Act 2004

Section 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 of the Land Use Act 2004 is under Part II (Principles of Land tenure) of the act.

Section 5 of the Land Use Act 2004

Powers of the Governors in relation to land

(1) It shall be lawful for the Governor in respect of land, whether or not in an urban areas:-
(a) to grant statutory rights of occupancy to any person for all purposes;
(b) to grant easements appurtenant to statutory rights occupancy;

(c) to demand rental for any such land granted to any person.
(d) to revise the said rental –
(i) at such intervals as may be specified in the certificate of occupancy; or
(ii) where no intervals are specified in the certificate or occupancy at any time during the term of the statutory rights of occupancy;
(e) to impose a penal rent for a breach of any covenant in a certificate of occupancy requiring the holder to develop or effect improvements on the land the subject of the certificate of occupancy and to revise such penal rent as provided in section 19 of this Act

(f) to impose a penal rent for a breach of any condition, express or implied, which precludes the holder of a statutory right of occupancy from alienating the right of or any part thereof by sale, mortgage, transfer or possession, sub-lease or request or otherwise howsoever without the prior consent of the Governor;
(g) to waive. Wholly or partially, except as otherwise prescribed; all or any of the covenant or conditions of which a statutory right of occupancy is subject where, owing to special circumstances, compliance therewith would be impossible or great hardship would be imposed upon the holder;

(h) to extend except as otherwise prescribed, the time to the holder of a statutory right of occupancy for performing any of the conditions of the right of occupancy upon such terms and conditions as he may thing fit.

(2) Upon the grant of a statutory right of occupancy under the provisions of subsection (1) of this section all existing rights to the use and occupation of the land which is the subject of the statutory right of occupancy shall be extinguished.

Section 6 of the Land Use Act 2004

Powers of Local Government in relation to land not in urban areas

(1) It shall be lawful for a Local Government in respect of land not in an urban area.
(a) to grant customary rights of occupancy to any person or organisation for the use of land in the Local Government areas for agricultural residential and other purposes.
(b) to grant customary right of occupancy to any person or organisation for the use of land for grazing purposes and such other purposes ancillary to agricultural purposes as may be customary in the Local Government area concerned.

(2) No single customary right of occupancy shall be granted in respect of an area of land in excess of 500 hectares if granted for agricultural purposes, or 5,000 hectares if granted for grazing purposes, except with the consent of the Governor.

(3) It shall be lawful for a Local Government to enter upon, use and occupy for public purposes any land within the area of its jurisdiction which is not
(a) land within an area declared to be an urban area pursuant to Section 3 of this Act;
(b) the subject of a statutory right of occupancy;
(c) within any area compulsorily acquired by the Government of the Federal or of the State concerned;
(d) the subject of any laws relating to minerals or mineral oils, and for the purpose to revoke any customary right of occupancy on any such land.

(4) The Local Government shall have exclusive rights to the lands so occupied against all persons except the Governor.

(5) The holder and the occupier according to their respective interests of any customary right of occupancy revoked under sub-section (2) shall be entitled to compensation for the value at the date of revocation of their unexhausted improvements.

(6) Where land in respect of which a customary right of occupancy is revoked under this Act was used for agricultural purposes by the holder, the Local Government shall allocate to such holder alternative land for use for the same purpose.
(7) If a Local Government refuses or neglects within a reasonable time to pay compensation to a holder and an according to their respective interests under the provisions of subsection (5), the Military Governor may proceed to the assessment of compensation under section 29 and direct the Local Government to pay the amount of such compensation to the holder and occupier according to their respective interests.

Section 7 of the Land Use Act 2004

Restriction on right of person under age of 21

It shall not be lawful for the Governor to grant a statutory right of occupancy or consent to the assignment or subletting of a statutory right of occupancy to a person under the age of twenty-one years; Provided that –
(a) Where a guardian or trustee for a person under the age of 21 has been duly appointed for such purpose the Governor may grant or consent to the assignment or subletting of a statutory right of occupancy to such guardian or trustee on behalf of such person under age;
(b) a person under the age of twenty-one years upon whom a statutory right of occupancy devolves on the death of the holder shall have the same liabilities and obligations under and in respect of his right of occupancy as if he were of full age notwithstanding the fact that no guardian or trustee has been appointed for him.

Section 8 of the Land Use Act 2004

Special contracts

Statutory right of occupancy granted under the provisions of section 5 (1) (a) of this Act shall be for a definite term and may be granted subject to the terms of any contract which may made by the Governor and the holder not being inconsistent with the provisions of this Act.

Section 9 of the Land Use Act 2004

Certificate of occupancy

(1) It shall be lawful for the Governor–
(a) when granting a statutory right of occupancy to any personal or
(b) when any person is in occupation of land under a customary right of occupancy and applies in the
prescribed manner; or
(c) when any person is entitled to a statutory right of occupancy, to issue a certificate under his hand in
evidence of such right of occupancy.

(2) Such certificate shall be termed a certificate of occupancy and there shall be paid therefore by the
person in whose name it is issued, such fee (if any) as may be prescribed.
(3) If the person in whose name a certificate of occupancy is issued, without lawful excuse, refuses or
neglects to accept and pay for the certificate, the Governor may cancel the certificate and
recover from such person any expenses incidental thereto, and in the case of a certificate evidencing a
statutory right of occupancy to be granted under paragraph (a) of subsection (1) the Governor
may revoke the statutory right of occupancy.

(4) The terms and conditions of a certificate of occupancy granted under this Act and which has been
accepted by the holder shall be enforceable against the holder and his successors in title,
notwithstanding that the acceptance of such terms and condition is not evidenced by the signature of
the holder or is evidenced by the signature only of some person purporting to accept on behalf of the
corporation.

Section 10 of the Land Use Act 2004

Conditions and provisions implied in certificate of occupancy

Every certificate of occupancy shall be deemed to contain provisions to the following effect:-
(a) that the holder binds himself to pay to the Governor the amount found to be payable in respect of any unexhausted improvements existing on the land at the date of his entering into occupation;
(b) that the holder binds himself to pay to the Governor the rent fixed by the Governor and any rent which may be agreed or fixed on revision in accordance with the provisions of section 16 this Act.

Section 11 of the Land Use Act 2004

Power of Governor or public officer to enter and inspect land and improvement

The Governor or any public officer duly authorised by the Governor in that behalf shall have the power to enter upon and inspect the land comprised in any statutory right of occupancy or any improvements effected thereon at any reasonable houses in the day time and the occupier shall permit and give free access to the Governor or any such officer so to enter and inspect.

Section 12 of the Land Use Act 2004

Power of Governor to grant licences to take building materials

(1) It shall be lawful for the Governor to grant a licence to any person to enter upon any land which is not
the subject of a statutory right of occupancy or of a mining lease, mining right or exclusive prospecting
licence granted under the Minerals Act or any other enactment, and remove or extract therefrom any
stone, gravel, clay, sand or other similar substance (not being a mineral within the meaning assigned
to that term in the Mineral Act) that may be required for building or for the manufacture of building materials.
(2) Any such licence may be granted for such period and subject to such conditions as the Military
Governor may thing proper of as may be prescribed.

(3) No such licence shall be granted in respect of an area exceeding 400 hectare.
(4) It shall not be lawful for any licensee to transfer his licence in any manner whatsoever without
the consent of the Governor first had and obtained, and any such transfer effected without the
consent of the Governor shall be null and void.

(5) The Governor may cancel any such licence if the licensee fails to comply with any of the
conditions of the licence.

Section 13 of the Land Use Act 2004

Duty of occupier of statutory right of occupancy to maintain beacons

(1) The Occupier of a statutory right of occupancy shall at all times maintain in good and substantial
repair to the satisfaction of the Governor, or of such public officer as the Military Governor
may appoint in that behalf, all beacons or other land marks by which the boundaries of the land
comprised in the statutory right of occupancy are refined and in default of his so dong the Military
Governor or such public officer as aforesaid may by notice in writing require the occupier to define the
boundaries in the manner and within the time specified in such notice.

(2) If the occupier of a statutory right of occupancy fails to comply with a notice served under subsection
(1)of this section he shall be liable to pay the expenses (if any) incurred by the Governor in defining the boundaries which the occupier has neglected to define.

Section 14 of the Land Use Act 2004

Exclusive rights of occupiers

Subject to the other provision of this Act and of any laws relating to way leaves, to prospecting for minerals or mineral oils or to mining or to oil pipelines and subject to the terms and conditions of any contract made under section, the occupier shall have exclusive rights to the land the subject of the statutory right of occupancy against all persons other than the Governor.

Section 15 of the Land Use Act 2004

The right to improvements

During the term of a statutory right of occupancy the holder –
(a) shall have the sole right to and absolute possession of all the improvements of the land;
(b) may, subject to the prior consent of the Governor, transferor, assign or mortgage any improvements on the land which have been effected pursuant to the terms and conditions of the certificate of occupancy relating to the land.

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