LAND LAW — Title to Land — Identity of Land — Burden of Proof of Identity of Land in Declaration of Title Actions
Principle Statement
Where the parties are not ad idem or ad idem facit on the identity of the land in dispute, the burden is on the party claiming title to prove the identity of the land. And this he can do by specific and unequivocal evidence as to boundaries of the land in dispute.
Ratio Decidendi (Source)
Per Tobi, JSC, in Aremu v. Adetoro (2007) NLC-123-418-2001(SC) at pp. 4–5; Paras D–A.
"Where the parties are not ad idem or ad idem facit on the identity of the land in dispute, the burden is on the party claiming title to prove the identity of the land. And this he can do by specific and unequivocal evidence as to boundaries of the land in dispute."
Explanation / Scope
Where the parties disagree on the identity of the disputed land, the plaintiff claiming title bears the burden of proving its identity. This must be done through specific and unequivocal evidence, particularly by describing the boundaries. Failure to do so is fatal to the claim. The court cannot grant a declaration for an unidentified or uncertain parcel of land.
