Posted: 2022 | Pages: 68 | Format: MS Word | Chapters: 1-5 | Others: Questionnaires & References

Price – N3,000

ABSTRACT

Since the procedure for acquisition of land is dependent on the land tenure of a people, a device must be found that protects both the interest of the Government and the owners when acquiring land compulsorily in order to ensure that adequate compensation is promptly paid to those dispossessed of their land.

This work is an appraisal of the adequacy of the compensation paid or payable in respect of Land acquired for Sam-Mbakwe Airport sited at Ngor-Okpala Local Government Area. The work has been able to follow the laws of compulsory land acquisition and compensation right from the colonial era to the present day. These laws empowering compulsory acquisition have passed many stages, each stage of development fashioned to suit the particular situation. Presently, the land use Decree No. 6 promulgated in 1978 is the major law guiding the compulsory land acquisition and compensation. Under these laws there has been series of land acquisition for various purposes such as: Housing Estates, construction of roads, building of educational institutions and construction of Airports like the Sam-Mbakwe Airport. This acquisition has been made possible by the provisions of the land use Act. This acquisition has affected the life of the people in several ways. The effect ranges from depriving them of their only means of livelihood, the problem of displacement and resettlement. The existing method of assessment of compensation which makes use of the approved rates by the Government has been compared with the actual pricing of the items of claim as got from market survey conducted. This has helped in the analysis of the value of compensation paid in order to determine the adequacy of the compensation paid and if the compensation was paid when due. It was discovered that the land-owners do not in most cases receive adequate compensation and in most cases the compensation paid is delayed due to the fault of the acquiring authority. Suggestions are made on how to remedy these anomalies that have plagued land acquisition and compensation in the state.    

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The history of land acquisition and compensation is as old as land ownership and development. All through the years the mode of acquisition and compensation has undergone changes in a way fashioned by the level of development of the society in which it takes place.

The acquisition of the site of the “Sam mbakwe Air port” at Ngor-okpala provides a reference point to this study. Although it is not a unique case of acquisition and compensation, it will be examined in the context of the provisions of the relevant acquisition and compensation laws in relation to their application to similar acquisition in the past.

In spite of all the supporting legislations (decrees and acts) promulgated to facilitate acquisition, any attempt towards their exercise is most often resisted by the land-owners who find it difficult to compromise their land no matter the price. Even when they do, the conditions they present are always very difficult to meet. The nature of problems posed by these attitudes will from the main focus of this study. How the law deals with this type situation will be critically examined and analyzed in the following chapters.

1.1     RATIONABLE OF THE STUDY

The acquisition of land is an aspect of life in which every human being is interested and by which he is affected in one way or the other.

The acquisition of the site of the “Sam mbakwe Airport Ngor-Okpala Local Government Area of Imo State, is no doubt a major land acquisition that has taken place in Imo State in recent time.

The present arrangement through which land is compulsorily acquired has been creating problems and generating dispute between the land-owners and the acquiring authority. The research will examine this arrangement in an attempt to identify the sources of these problems. Some land-owners are made to suffer when their lands are acquired. Governments on the other hand encounter much resistance as a result in the course of land acquisition.

A comment on some of the statutes from which powers for public land acquisition is derived, will give a clearer picture of the evolution of compulsory land acquisition and compensation. This will be illustrated by valuation for compensation where applicable.