Brief: Nigerian Land Markets and the Land Use Law of 1978

Among the main objectives of the Nigerian Land Use Decree of 1978 were:

1. reducing land conflicts among citizens;
2. unifying and simplifying land tenure concepts and land administration procedures throughout the country;
3. achieving a more equitable distribution of and access to land rights for all citizens regardless of wealth or position; and 
4. facilitating greater government control over land use and development. 

Today, almost 35 years after adoption of the law, questions continue to be raised about whether the law has achieved its objectives, and, if so, whether it has created as many new problems for Nigerian land markets as it has solved. This brief reviews some of the apparent outcomes of the 1978 Land Use Law (Ch. 202 of the Laws of Nigeria 1990, as amended; herein the “Land Law”) from the perspective of how they are affecting the development of formal land markets in Nigeria.