The Nature Of Land Ownership And The Protection Of The Purchaser

Abstract

This article examines the nature of ownership of land and derivative or subordinate realrights under English law drawing some comparison with Romanic-Dutch ownership while arguing
that the Anglo-American estate’ or interest’ in land is a mere semantic conundrum. It is the
position of this writer that the concept of ownership in English law of real property, which
dominantly influences our real property law in Nigeria and other common law jurisdictions such as
the Bahamas and Jamaica, has not brought the desirable clarity to our real property
jurisprudence/practice in Nigeria. The unfortunate problems faced by purchasers of real estate in
some common law jurisdiction are also briefly examined in this article. The article seeks to advance a
solution to these problems and in this context the writer strongly suggests that a land registration
system of some model should be adopted in Nigeria and the Bahamas to protect purchasers of real
estates and guarantee greater security of title and clarity in our conveyancing practice.