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TYPES OF RIGHTS OF OCCUPANCY IN THE LAND USE ACT – ACTUAL VS DEEMED GRANT

Dictum

For a better appreciation of the issue, it is necessary to observe that under the Land Use Act, 1978, two types of rights of occupancy were thereby created. These comprise of Statutory right of occupancy and Customary right of occupancy. Both Statutory right of occupancy and Customary right of occupancy are of two classifications. The first is the Statutory right of occupancy granted by the State Governor pursuant to Section 5(1)(a) of the Act and the Customary right of occupancy granted by the Local Government under Section 6 (1) (a) of the Act. The second classification is the Statutory right of occupancy deemed to have been granted by the State Governor pursuant to Section 34(2) of the Act and the Customary right of occupancy deemed to have been granted by the Local Government under Section 36(2) of the Act. In both cases of Statutory and Customary rights of occupancy. Therefore, there exist an actual grant as well as a deemed, grant. An actual grant is naturally a grant made by the Governor of a State or a Local Government whilst a deemed grant comes into existence automatically by the operation of law. See Savannah Bank (Nig.) Ltd. v. Ajilo (1989) 1 NWLR (Pt. 97) 305 and Alhaji Adisa v. Emmanuel Oyinwola and Others (2000) 10 NWLR (Pt. 674) 116. It is in the light of these categories of grant that the validity of Exhibits A and B must now be examined.

— Iguh, JSC. Kyari v Alkali (2001) – SC.224/1993

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DEEMED & ACTUAL GRANTS OF MILITARY GOVERNOR

That there is a distinction between a deemed grant and an actual grant goes without saying. That the same incidence flows from both grants also goes without saying. In origin, a deemed grant is different from an actual grant. A deemed grant under the Land Use Act is a grant by operation of law. An actual grant is a grant made by the activities of the Military Governor under the Land Use Act. Both the actual and the deemed grants being grants the deemed grants being regarded by the law as if made by the Military Governor also become subject to legal controls as if granted by the Military Governor.

– Obaseki, JSC. Savannah v. Ajilo (1989)

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COURT CANNOT GRANT MORE THAN A PARTY SEEKS FOR

It is revealed by the record and the pleadings filed by the Respondent that the relief sought by the Appellant was not contested at all. Thus, parties are bound by their pleadings. It is elementary that a Court is bound by the reliefs sought. The generosity or charity of a Court of law is confined strictly to the reliefs sought to the extent that a Court of law cannot give a party what he did not claim. That is completely outside our procedural law. The rationale behind this is that a party who comes to Court knows where the shoe pinches him and therefore knows the limits of what he wants. The Court, as an unbiased umpire, cannot claim to know the reliefs better than the party. See Per Tobi, JSC, in EAGLE SUPER PACK (NIGERIA) LTD V. ACB PLC (2006) 19 NWLR (PT 1013) 20 or (2006) LPELR (980) 1 AT 40.

— U.M. Abba Aji, JSC. Cappa v NDIC (2021) – SC.147/2006

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DEEMED GRANT TREATED AS ACTUAL GRANT

It is therefore my opinion that “deemed grant” is to be treated as a grant by the Military Governor with all the attendant consequences and subject to the provisions in the Act for the control by the Governor of the use and transfer of the right.

– Obaseki, JSC. Savannah v. Ajilo (1989)

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