Land litigation is unarguably, an aspect of Nigerian Law, where indigenous writers initially exerted their dominance and preeminence. Perhaps, this trend is not unconnected with the dominant nature of farming in an undeveloped economy. In pre-colonial and post-colonial Nigeria, the economy was substantially agro-based, with subsistence farming as the preponderance occupation of the populace. However, land as a factor of production was limited in supply, thereby, resulting in scarcity. This situation of scarcity of land was imbued with potentials for disputes and struggles over land. Thus, land litigation dominated the proceedings in courts, especially Customary and Area Courts.

Similarly, appeals on land matter accounted for the bulk of appellate proceedings in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. The stage was set for indigenous scholars and researchers to forage into this hitherto fertile area for research and academic pursuit. Consequently, there was preponderance of materials and books in the area of land literature. Such names as Prof. Nwabueze, Prof. Omotala, Prof. Ezejiofor, Late Hon. Justice I.A. Umezulike, Prof. Okani and Justice Abiodun A. Akinyemi are familiar names who pioneered literary works. Despite these pioneering efforts, emergent writers continued to make their debut in the area of land law and litigation. Each writer comes with their peculiar approach and idiosyncrasies, which exposes legal practitioners and stakeholders to varied and divergent options.

This Twenty-Five Chapter Textbook is conceived to aid courtroom practitioners in the practice and application of land law principles in Nigeria. Every idea canvased or issue discussed is founded on stare decisis. We have not embarked on theoretical discussions or academic dissertation outside a contemplation of existing judicial authorities. However, we have included topics which are not orthodox ones in existing land law books. Thus, such topics as ‘gift of land under customary law’, ‘customary arbitration’, which may not strictly be regarded as land law topics are given prominence in this work.