LEGAL PRINCIPLE: LAND LAW – Land Use Act – Effect of Grant of Statutory Right of Occupancy Under Section 5(2)
PRINCIPLE STATEMENT
Upon proper interpretation of subsection (2) of section 5 of the Land Use Act, a later statutory right of occupancy extinguishes all rights created by an earlier grant; to save an earlier grant, the later right of occupancy must be expressly set aside.
RATIO DECIDENDI (SOURCE)
Ratio Decidendi (Source): "Upon a proper interpretation of subsection (2) of section 5 of the Land Use Act, a later statutory right of occupancy extinguishes all rights created by an earlier grant. To save an earlier grant of a statutory right of occupancy, the later right of occupancy must be expressly set aside."
EXPLANATION / SCOPE
Section 5(2) of the Land Use Act creates automatic extinguishment: when government grants a statutory right of occupancy over land, all previous rights (customary or statutory) are automatically extinguished. The later grant supersedes earlier grants without requiring prior revocation. This “clean slate” principle means the new grantee takes the land free from earlier encumbrances. To preserve an earlier grant against a later one, the later grant must be expressly set aside through legal proceedings—it doesn’t simply coexist with or remain subordinate to the earlier grant. This radical approach promotes certainty in land administration but can work hardship on earlier grantees who lose rights automatically unless they successfully challenge the later grant.