LEGAL PRINCIPLE: LAND LAW – Principle of Nemo Dat Quod Non Habet – Application to Family Land Sales
PRINCIPLE STATEMENT
Unless the vendor family and the owner family are one and the same, a conveyance document would be ineffective to pass the owner family's title to the purchaser; determining family identity is imperative when examining validity of family land sales.
RATIO DECIDENDI (SOURCE)
"It seems to me that from whatever angle one examines the validity or otherwise of the sale in issue, a finding on whether Arikoto and Arikotokowosi referred to one and the same family must be regarded as imperative... Unless Arikotokowosi and Ibala Arikoto are one and the same family, Exhibit 3 would be ineffective to pass Ibala Arikoto's title in the land in dispute to the respondent..."
EXPLANATION / SCOPE
The maxim “nemo dat quod non habet” (one cannot give what one doesn’t have) applies strictly to family land. If Family A purports to sell land belonging to Family B, the conveyance is void—Family A cannot transfer title it doesn’t possess. When families have similar names (Arikoto vs. Arikotokowosi), courts must determine whether they’re identical or distinct. If distinct, the vendor family lacks title and cannot convey it. This finding is “imperative”—fundamental to validity. Purchasers must verify: (1) which family owns the land; (2) whether vendors belong to that family; (3) family identity through genealogy and community recognition. Mistaken identity—buying from the wrong family—provides no title regardless of good faith or payment