NGO urges creation of separate courts for land disputes
The Ominira Initiative for Economic Advancement has called on the federal government to establish separate courts to handle land-related matters, citing the heavy backlog of such cases in Nigeria’s judicial
The Ominira Initiative for Economic Advancement has called on the federal government to establish separate courts to handle land-related matters, citing the heavy backlog of such cases in Nigeria’s judicial system.
Executive director and co-founder of the group, Lanre-Peter Elufisan, made the call during a press conference ahead of the group’s Economic Freedom Summit scheduled for Thursday.
He noted that over 50 percent of cases in Nigerian courts involve land disputes, a situation he attributed to unclear land administration and challenges arising from the Land Use Act of 1978.
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Elufisan stressed that the absence of dedicated land courts is hindering development and enabling land grabbers to operate with impunity.
He also urged the federal government to amend the Land Use Act to address these structural issues.
The press conference was attended by Professor Olawale Ogunkola of the University of Ibadan’s Department of Economics, Program Manager Temiloluwa Oyeniyi, Director of Research Bayonle Fesobi, and Communications Manager Adedapo Akinola.
The NGO plans to unveil the full findings of its research on land administration at the upcoming summit in Lagos.
Elufisan said, "For Nigeria to be properly governed, our rule of law must be working. Land Use Act of 1978 is affecting the economy. It hinders people to acquire lands to do businesses and other things.
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"The issue of land is related to opportunities. Many people have been denied access to thrive because they cannot get land for their businesses.
"We have seen that 50 of cases at different courts in Nigeria are land related matters simply because there is no proper land administration in Nigeria. If we refused to do something about the land use act of 1978, Nigeria will continue to have problems.
"If we don't have proper land administration, land grabbers will continue to have their ways.
"We are saying that Land Use Act of 1978 should be revisited and reviewed to suit the current situation. There is a need to have specialised courts for land related matters. Just like what have for labour related matters. We have industrial courts for labour and industry related matters. When we have these courts, it will help to decongest our courts across the country.
"We are going to make the full outcome of our research findings available to the members of the public during our economic freedom summit in Lagos on Thursday".
Ogunkola, while addressing the journalists, noted that Nigeria cannot do well when most of the industries and companies depend on generators to power their machines.