Land Use Act

The Nigerian Land Use Act 1978 is the principal legislation that regulates contemporary land tenure in Nigeria. Upon its enactment, the law brought about radical, if not revolutionary, changes in the erstwhile land tenure systems in the country.2 The law was aimed, among other things, at reducing unequal access to land and land resources, a situation that had caused a great deal of hardship to the citizenry. Massive and unfettered access to land and land resources by the citizens could stimulate the needed economic growth in an economy that depends heavily on agriculture and mineral resources. 
The Land Use Act was equally targeted at reducing the high cost of land required for industrial estates and mechanized agriculture. For these reasons, the law appeared to nationalize land when it placed it in the hands of the government as a custodian, to hold in trust and administer for the use and common benefit of all Nigerians.