MR. ABIODUN FAGBUARO & ORS v. ALHAJI SULEIMAN AKINBAMI & ORS
(2014)LCN/6897(CA)
RATIO
WHETHER THE CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY WOULD EXPUNGE THE NEED TO PROOF TITLE TO LAND
In the case of OGUNLEYE V. ONI (1990) 2 NWLR (PT 135) 745, the Supreme Court held “It should be clear from the provisions of that Section that any person without title to a parcel of land in respect of which the certificate of occupancy was issued acquired no right or interest which he did not acquire before.
Furthermore, the Certificate of Occupancy cannot stop the Court from enquiring into the validity and existence of the title the person claimed to possess before the issue of the Certificate of Occupancy”.
The usefulness of the Certificate of Occupancy rests on the foundation of the title obtained by the 1st Respondent. What is decisive in this case is that the interest of the 2nd Respondent had not been validly determined and in view of that, the 1st Respondent’s Certificate of Occupancy cannot cure the defective title which the 1st Respondent obtained. Per FATIMA OMORO AKINBAMI, J.C.A
