LEGAL PRINCIPLE: EVIDENCE LAW – Documentary Evidence – Purchase Receipt – Legal Effect of Purchase Receipt Coupled with Possession
PRINCIPLE STATEMENT
A purchase receipt being an unregistered instrument was not admissible to prove title but admissible as an acknowledgement of the payment of money and coupled with the plaintiff being in possession raised the presumption that he entered into possession under a contract of sale and from these arose an equitable interest capable of being converted into a legal estate by specific performance.
RATIO DECIDENDI (SOURCE)
Per Katsina-Alu, JSC, in Elema & Anor v. Akenzua (2000) NLC-371995(SC) at pp. 10–11; Paras D–E.
"A purchase receipt being an unregistered instrument was not admissible to prove title but admissible as an acknowledgement of the payment of money and coupled with the plaintiff being in possession raised the presumption that he entered into possession under a contract of sale and from these arose an equitable interest capable of being converted into a legal estate by specific performance."
EXPLANATION / SCOPE
An unregistered purchase receipt cannot prove title to land but is admissible to prove payment. When coupled with actual possession, it raises a presumption of entry under a contract of sale, creating an equitable interest. This interest, though not legal title, is enforceable and can be converted into legal estate through specific performance. Such equitable interest is protected against all except a bona fide purchaser for value without notice. This principle recognizes that informal land transactions may create enforceable rights despite non-compliance with formal registration requirements.