Trust Law and the Administration of Real Property in Nigeria

It was very rare in the past to hear of Individual title of land holding. It is a practice that was hardly known to customary law. This was looked upon as being repugnant to natural phenomena among Nigerians. The only systems of landholding known to the people then were communal and family holding. This indeed, was the gradual development of Individual land holding. Recent times have brought about the concept of trust in real property administration. The main characteristic of a trust is that a property is vested on the trustees not for their own benefits, but for the benefit of the beneficiaries. Instead of giving the property directly to the beneficiaries, the donor creates or establish a trust (a management institution) under a trust that will not only manage and safeguard the trust property and apply it in the manner directed, but will also make it productive. This study therefore was concerned primarily with examining trust law and the administration of real property in Nigeria.