Trespass to land in Uyo or anywhere in Nigeria is a common occurrence mostly experienced by landed property owners. It involves a person or stranger who illegally, unlawfully or fraudulently enters into another person’s land and starts building thereon. According to Black’s Law Dictionary, trespass is an unlawful act committed against the person or property of another or wrongful entry on another’s real property. Trespass connotes intentionally entering into land, remaining on land, placing on projecting an object upon land in possession of another, without lawful justification. It does not depend on the intention of the trespasser, nor can he plead ignorance as to the true owner or that he thought the land belonged to him.
Trespass to land in Uyo can be committed in the following ways;
- Trespass by unjustifiable or wrongful entry: This is regarded as the commonest form of trespass to land. It involves personal entry or procured by some other person into a land or building belonging to some one else. The slightest crossing of boundary is sufficient to amount to trespass. A trespasser who intentionally enters into another’s land may still be liable in trespass even though he claims he acted under an honest but mistaken belief that the was on his own land or that he has right of entry or that the land is a public land.
- Abuse of entry: If some one refuses to leave after the expiration of his right of entry or use of land, he becomes a trespasser. If due to misbehavior, the owner of a land revokes one’s right to be on the land and the revocation is ignored, such person becomes a trespasser therein.
- Placing or projecting some objects upon the land: Placing any material object on the land in possession of another is trespass.
Remedies available upon trespass to land
- Approach the Court for a relief of declaration of title
- Where a party alleges trespass to land, the remedy of injunction is a ready tool to prevent further trespass
- Trespass is actionable per se; i.e a party is entitled to recover damages for trespass without proof of actual loss.
- Seek an order for recovery of possession
- Claim mense profit
Why you must act immediately
The person or stranger who illegally, unlawfully, or fraudulently enters into another person’s land and starts building on it may no longer be liable in trespass and may be protected by the doctrine of laches and acquiescence. This is why one must act immediately and swiftly upon realizing that there has been a trespass on one’s landed property.
Laches is defined as an unreasonable delay in pursing a right or claim, in a way that prejudices the person against whom the relief is sought. Acquiescence on the other hand means a person’s tacit or passive acceptance or implied consent to an act. Laches and acquiescence are defenses available to a trespasser where the owner of the landed property has waited too long before making his claims known or before approaching a Court of competent jurisdiction. Where a party has slept on his right and acquiesced for a great length of time, a Court of law will decline jurisdiction, upon an application being made, as the party claiming rights has delayed in protesting against the acts of trespass.
If a stranger begins to build on your land supposing it to be his own, and you, perceiving his mistake, abstain from setting him right, and leave him to persist in his error, a Court will not allow you afterwards to assert your title to the land on which the stranger had expended money on the supposition that the land was his own. It considers that when you see the mistake in which the stranger had fallen into, it would be your duty to be active and to state your adverse title and it would be dishonest in you to remain willfully passive on such accession, so as to afterwards profit from the mistake which you could have prevented. This is the principle in the doctrine of the laches and acquiescence and is available as a defense to trespassers.
Conclusion
The doctrine of laches and acquiescence is always available to protect strangers and trespassers who think they are acting in good faith, while in actual sense are trespassers, where the actual owner of the landed property chooses to sleep on his/her rights by not protesting against the trespass, on the dishonest guise that all what was expended on the property will become his/hers. It is therefore pertinent to be vigilant/diligent where there is trespass to land in Uyo or anywhere in Nigeria, and act immediately.
We provide Real Estate Attorney services
CONTACT US via telephone call or whatsapp on +234 708 424 1826 or send an email to info@thejubileelegal.com
