JAMES SONGO v. TERHEMEN AKURE
(2014)LCN/6856(CA)
RATIO
WHETHER A CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY IS A CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE OF TITLE TO LAND
In law, a Certificate of Occupancy is not a conclusive evidence of title to land and it can be nullified, in deserving situations, at the instance of a party with a better title. In the case of Adole v. Gwar (2008) 11 NWLR (Pt. 1099) 562 at 590, Onu, J.S.C., stated: “A Certificate of Occupancy issued on the Land Use Act, it must be stressed, cannot be said to be conclusive evidence of any interest or valid title to land in favour of the grantee; it is only prima facie evidence of such right, interest or title without more and may in appropriate cases be effectively challenged and rendered invalid, null and void….
Consequently, where it is proved as in this case, that another person other than the grantee of a Certificate of Occupancy had a better title to the land, the court may have no option but to set aside the grant or discountenance it as invalid, defective or spurious as the case may be….” See, also, Agundo v. Gberbo (1999) 9 NWLR (Pt. 617) 71; Omiyale v. Macaulay (2009) 7 NWLR (Pt. 1141) 597; Admin./Exec., Estate, Abacha v. Eke-Spiff (2009) 7 NWLR (Pt. 1139) 97; Ilona v. Idakwo (supra); Atanda v. Iliasu (supra); Dantsoho v. Mohammed (2003) 6 NWLR (Pt. 817) 457.
In the view of the law, a document of title does not automatically entitle a party, brandishing it, to ownership of a land. A party’s production and reliance on such an instrument, inevitably, carries with it the necessity for the court to inquire into some number of questions viz: (i) whether the document is genuine and valid; (ii) whether it has been duly executed, stamped and registered; (iii) whether the grantor had the authority and capacity to make the grant; (iv) whether the grantor had in fact what he purported to grant; and (v) whether it has the effect claimed by its holder, see Romaine v. Romaine (1992) 4 NWLR (Pt. 238) 650; Dabo v. Abdullahi (2005) 7 NWLR (Pt. 923) 181; Kyari v. Alkali (2001) 11 NWLR (Pt. 724) 412; Jolasun v. Bamgboye (2010) 18 NWLR (Pt. 1225) 285; Ayanwale v. Odusami (2011) 18 NWLR (Pt. 1278) 328; Olaniyan v. Fatoki (supra). Per OBANDE FESTUS OGBUINYA, J.C.A.
