Personal Property Law In Nigeria

Nigerian law for so long developed only one aspect of its property law, namely, real property law, and the law on personal property was left in shambles and unreformed. As a result, most secured lenders refused to accept personal (movable) assets as collateral for loans. One of the reasons was a lack of a collateral registry where security interests on personal property collateral ought to have been registered to inform the public about existing encumbrances. Thus, due to this exploitable gap it was possible for debtors in a non-possessory lending context to create the ostensible impression before potential lenders that they owned the property free from any encumbrance, thereby obtaining several credits with a collateral that was insufficient to cover the debts. Similarly, third party buyers were tricked into purchasing collateral that was encumbered because, prior to purchase, such buyers had no collateral registry to verify ownership and encumbrances."

This book addresses core issues of personal property law in Nigeria from a comparative perspective. It offers a detailed account of the laws governing personal property and the different lightweight reforms undertaken mainly through case law before the enactment of the Secured Transactions in Movable Assets Act in 2017. The book draws insights from the United States UCC article 9, being unarguably the first law that introduced the concept of modern secured transactions law, and was influential to many common and civilian law systems in reforming their personal property laws. Given that personal property law is fairly new in Nigeria, and also in Africa in general, the main aim of the book is to provide judges and academic researchers with a rich collection of tested solutions from jurisdictions that have experimented with modern secured transactions law for several decades. The primary and secondary works that were referenced in the book have tracked the different epochal shifts in legal thinking and their significances. This may assist scholars and judges in Nigeria to come up with bespoke interpretations of the Act and solutions to underlying problems on credit and security, that will satisfy the local conditions as opposed to copying the unaltered solutions from the United States and other advanced systems.

Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws, this practical analysis of the law of property in Nigeria deals with the issues related to rights and interests in all kinds of property and assets – immovable, movable, and personal property; how property rights are acquired; fiduciary mechanisms; and security considerations. Lawyers who handle transnational disputes and other matters concerning property will appreciate the explanation of specific terminology, application, and procedure. An introduction outlining the essential legal, cultural, and historical considerations affecting property is followed by a discussion of the various types of property. Further analysis describes how and to what extent legal subjects can have or obtain rights and interests in each type. The coverage includes tangible and intangible property, varying degrees of interest, and the various ways in which property is transferred, including the ramifications of appropriation, expropriation, and insolvency. Facts are presented in such a way that readers who are unfamiliar with specific terms and concepts in varying contexts will fully grasp their meaning and significance. The book includes ample references to doctrine and cases, as well as to relevant international treaties and conventions. Its succinct yet scholarly nature, as well as the practical quality of the information it provides, make this book a valuable time-saving tool for any practitioner faced with a property-related matter. Lawyers representing parties with interests in Nigeria will welcome this very useful guide, and academics and researchers will appreciate its value in the study of comparative property law.

Critical Issues in Nigerian Property Law, a collection of writings in honour of Professor Jelili Adebisi Omotola, SAN, a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos, who died on the 29th of March 2006, has ten chapters that closely examine not only the current state of Property Law in Nigeria, but also recent developments and other challenges that have surfaced since the infamous Land Use Act of 1999. The book is clearly a useful contribution to a growing body of knowledge on property law and practice in Nigeria.

This book examines an enactment that reforms Nigeria’s personal property security law by adopting the unitary system of secured transactions in replacement of the common law system. With the unitary system widely acclaimed for enhancing access to credit for small business entities, the book highlights the drawbacks of the enactment in the attainment of this objective. Being the foremost Nigerian book on the unitary system, it is a significant text for all stakeholders in the credit system within and outside Nigeria, including law academics, practitioners, students and financial regulators. It will interest those in countries that are intent on undergoing similar reform as it provides guidance on the unique features of the unitary system in contrast with those of the common law. In the spirit of reform, the book compares the Nigerian enactment to other similar enactments to highlight potential lessons in areas in which the Nigerian enactment appears to have lost traction.This book examines an enactment that reforms Nigeria’s personal property security law by adopting the unitary system of secured transactions in replacement of the common law system. With the unitary system widely acclaimed for enhancing access to credit for small business entities, the book highlights the drawbacks of the enactment in the attainment of this objective. Being the foremost Nigerian book on the unitary system, it is a significant text for all stakeholders in the credit system within and outside Nigeria, including law academics, practitioners, students and financial regulators. It will interest those in countries that are intent on undergoing similar reform as it provides guidance on the unique features of the unitary system in contrast with those of the common law. In the spirit of reform, the book compares the Nigerian enactment to other similar enactments to highlight potential lessons in areas in which the Nigerian enactment appears to have lost traction.

This study, in nineteen chapters, deals with the various issues pertaining to land law in Nigeria. Namely: Concept of ownership; ownership and communal land holding under customary land tenure; individual land ownership; family land ownership; alienation under customary law; nature of customary tenancy; pledge; the law of property; an overview of the effect of the Land Use Act on customary ownership of land; The Nigerian Land Use Act; Land Use Act 1978; ways of declaration of title to land; legal mortgage; the position of landlord and tenant; the procedure for recovery of premises under the recovery of premises law; classification of right of occupancy; nature of prescription; march towards the reform of the Land Use Act.

This title offers an authoritative and concise introduction to personal property law. Providing a definition of personal property law, the author demonstrates why an understanding of the principles of personal property is important.