Acta Universitatis Danubius. Juridica, Vol 8, No 3 (2012)

Abstract

A property right is the exclusive authority to determine how a resource is used, whether that resource is owned by government or by individuals. In the context of land, it is the authority of the land owner to determine its use or otherwise. On the other hand, compulsory acquisition is the process by which government obtain land from private owners for development purposes in the best interest of the community. These diametrically opposed concepts of property rights and compulsory acquisition is reconciled with the payment of compensation for the extinguishment of private property rights. In Nigeria, these two concepts have a history of mutual conflicts, resulting in congruous resolutions most of the time, until the introduction of the Land Use Act 1978. With the coming of the Act, the pendulum has tilted in favour of compulsory acquisition to the detriment of private property rights; as compensation fails to assuage the loss occasioned by expropriation.The paper explored the dichotomy between private property rights and compulsory acquisition in Nigeria in the last 50years and submitted that the process under the Land Use Act changed the equilibrium that existed between these two concepts and produced a skewed and unfavorable result to the detriment of private rights and National economy. It finally proposed a new equitable arrangement to the quagmire.