Lands (Title Vesting, etc.) Act

LANDS (TITLE VESTING, ETC.) ACT ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS SECTION 1. Vesting of ownership of lands in the Federal Government of Nigeria. 2. Control and management of lands. 3. Invalidation of all allocations, etc. 4. Regularisation of leases. 5. Registration of property to which Act applies. 6. Short title. LANDS (TITLE VESTING, ETC.) ACT An Act to provide among other things, for the vesting of the title of all land within the 100 metres limit of the 1967 shore line and all land reclaimed near the la goon, sea or ocean in or bordering Nigeria exclusively in the Federal Govern ment of Nigeria. [1993 No. 52.] [1st January, 1975] [Commencement.] 1. Vesting of ownership of lands in the Federal Government of Nigeria (1) For the avoidance of any doubt and notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria or any enactment, law or vesting instrument, the title to all the lands within 100 metres limit of the 1967 shoreline of Nigeria and any other land reclaimed from any lagoon, sea or ocean in or bordering Nigeria or of oceans bordering the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall, to the exclusion of any right accruing to any body corporate or unincorporate or industry, vest in the Federal Government of Nigeria without any further assurance than this Act. (2) Accordingly, any purported title to any land referred to in subsection (1) of this section held by any State or local government, any individual or by any body corporate or unincorporate before the commencement of this Act, is hereby vested in the Federal Gov ernment of Nigeria. 2. Control and management of lands All the lands referred to in section 1 of this Act shall be controlled and managed for and on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria by the Federal Ministry charged with responsibility for lands and land matters or any other authority designated by that Minis try for the purposes of this Act. 3. Invalidation of all allocations, etc. (1) Any lease purportedly granted by any State or local government, individual or any body corporate or unincorporate or any agency of the State or local government, in respect of any such land, before the commencement of this Act shall abate, be null and void and of no effect whatsoever. (2) In subsection (1) of this section, "agency" includes any statutory corporation or any other statutory body (corporate or unincorporate) or any company wholly owned by the State or local government or any individual or body corporate or unincorporate. 4. Regularisation of leases (1) Subject to this Act, the holder of a lease purportedly granted before the commence ment of this Act by any of the persons referred to in section 3 of this Act, shall be deemed to have been granted the said lease by the Federal Government of Nigeria. (2) Accordingly, the holder of the lease or his agent shall hold the lease in accordance with such terms and conditions as the Federal Government of Nigeria may determine, from time to time. (3) The holder or his agent shall, within a period of 30 days, from the promulgation of this Act, be required to regularise the lease with the Federal Ministry charged with responsibility for lands and lands matters by means of formal application to the said Ministry. (4) A person who, being the holder or agent of the holder of a lease in respect of the land referred in subsection (1) of this section, fails to regularise the lease as specified therein, is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine of N10,000 or impris onment for a term of five years or to both such fine and imprisonment and to the revoca tion of the lease and forfeiture of the property movable or immovable on the land to the Federal Government of Nigeria. (5) Where the contravention is by a body corporate, it shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine of N20,000 on the first conviction and N5,000 for each day on which the offence continues and in addition to the revocation of the lease. 5. Registration of property to which Act applies The Registrar of Titles in the Federal Land Registry in which any land referred to in subsection (1) of this Act is situate shall, without the payment of any fee, register the title to the said property in the name of the Federal Government of Nigeria and ensure that the registration is effected free of any encumbrances as provided in this Act. 6. Short title This Act may be cited as the Lands (Title Vesting, etc.) Act. LANDS (TITLE VESTING, ETC.) ACT SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION No Subsidiary Legislation