EQUITABLE INTEREST COUPLED WITH POSSESSION OVERRIDES LEGAL ESTATE

Ayinla v. Sijuwola (1984) 5 SC 44 at 77 where Nnamani JSC explained the principle in issue as follows- “All these cases appear to lay emphasis on possession. Even if it was an equitable interest, if it is coupled with possession it cannot be overriden by a legal estate. This principle accords with the decisions of the Privy Council in Oshodi v. Balogun and Ors 4 WACA 1 at p.6 and Suleiman and Anor v. Johnson 13 WACA 213. Whether land is sold under native law and custom or merely sold but without executing a formal deed, it seems to me that if the purchaser is in possession for a long time the equitable interest thus created cannot be superseded by a subsequent legal estate. In effect it matures into a legal estate.”