HOW TO PROVE LEGAL OWNERSHIP OF YOUR LAND, IN NIGERIA
Many times, whether you want it or not, you may find yourself in the unenviable position of having to prove that you are the true owner of your property. In the case of a small concern or major dispute, there are only a few legally acceptable ways to prove to the court and to the world that you are the owner of your property. What are these ways of proving ownership? Let us learn from the Supreme Court matter of Agboola v. United Bank for Africa Plc. & 2 Ors. (2011) 4 CLRN 33.
Madam Ayinke went to the High Court asking the court to declare that the auction sale of the house was illegal, null and void and to set it aside.
Madam Ayinke, following the advice of her brother, Mr. Durosinmi, bought and paid for a piece of land from one Alhaji Sule Tahiru. The land was situated at Sadiku Road, Kulende, Ilorin, Kwara State. The sale was witnessed by her brother. Upon the purchase of the land. Madam Ayinke left the documents of the property in the custody of her brother and proceeded to erect a two-storey building of thirty rooms, renting it out to tenants.
Years later, she learnt, through one of the tenants that United Bank of Africa (UBA) had sold the property by auction to someone else. When she investigated the matter, she found out that her brother, Mr. Durosinmi, with whom she had left the documents, had mortgaged the property to the bank as collateral without her knowledge.
When she confronted her brother, he apologized, begged for forgiveness and explained that he mortgaged the house to the bank when he had financial difficulty. He gave her the assurance that he would redeem the mortgaged security and the house would not be sold.
Madam Ayinke went to the High Court asking the court to declare that the auction sale of the house was illegal, null and void and to set it aside. She also asked the court to grant her damages and injunction against the bank and its agents. The High Court Judge granted her desires.
The bank maintained that its position as a legal mortgage, claiming that it had the right to sell the property by auction. Thus, it appealed to the Court of Appeal. The court of Appeal granted the desires of the bank on the ground that Madam Ayinke had failed to prove her true legal ownership of the property in dispute. Thoroughly dissatisfied with the decision of the Court of Appeal, Madam Ayinke appealed to the Supreme Court.
During the pendency of the case, Mr. Durosinmi died. After some time, Madam Ayinke also died and her kinswoman, Mrs. Agboola took up the matter in court. The major question before the Supreme Court was whether Madam Ayinke had proved her title to the property at Kulende Road, Ilorin. Delivering the lead judgment of the court, Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, JSC listed out the legally acceptable ways of proving title or ownership to land thus:
1. By traditional evidence (such as calling witnesses to trace the devolution of the land from the original or ancestral owner);
2. By production of documents of title (such as a Certificate of Occupancy issued by the necessary State Government);
3. By proving acts of ownership numerous and positive enough to warrant an inference that the person is the true owner (such as selling, renting out or farming on all or part of the land);
4. By proving acts of long possession and enjoyment of the land under; or
5. By proof of possession of connected or adjacent land.
The court posited that for a person to prove his ownership or title to land, he must do so through one or more of these five means.
The Supreme Court found that Madam Ayinke had not proven ownership of the land because she could not produce any title documents. The receipt of purchase of the land that she collected from the vendor, Alhaji Tahiru, did not contain her same as the purchaser. In the same way, none of the receipts that she gave to her tenants upon payment of rent also contained her name. In addition, she did not call Alhaji Tahiru as one of her witnesses to testify that she bought the land from him. On its part, the bank produced a Deed of Conveyance signed by Mr. Durosinmi and Alhaji Tahiru assigning the property to Mr. Durosinmi (Madam Ayinke’s brother). The court held that the “ways under which the appellant (Madam Ayinke) predicated her claim for title have definitely not been established, and so her claim to the ownership of the property has not been proved”.
Having discovered the legally acceptable ways of proving your legal ownership of your property, it is in your best interest to regularize whatever means you may want to adopt in the time of dispute or issues, should they arise.
Called from The Castle Magazine of Dec. 22- 31, 2013.