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About Felis
Overview
- Nigeria has a land area of 924,768 sq km
- Over 80% of Nigeria's land area fall within rural area
- Less than 3% of the 20% land in urban areas is mapped
- Nigeria has its highest population in the urban areas
- 10% of the urban dwellers live in their own homes
- The cost of land may be high, but the process of title preperation is beginning to improve
- The mortgage market is developing fast facilities for property ownership is essentially because of the absence of title documents
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Chief Nduese Essien,
Hon. Minister of Lands Housing & Urban Development
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FELIS project
Following the decision of the present Government to reform national land administration through the modernization and computerization of its operations, the Federal Ministry of Works & Housing embarked upon FELIS Project soon after its inception. “FELIS” is the acronym for Federal Land Information System. It is a system that captures information on Federal Government lands throughout the country in a functional digital format. It is a more flexible system of recording and administering land information against the hitherto the manual system. The greatest beauty is that it is designed as a single database linked to other centres to send and receive information about transactions on Federal Government land nationwide via the internet. The project would eventually entail networking with individual State Lands Registries to provide online information on property ownership nationwide, with the ultimate desire to establishing a National Land Repository.
It will facilitate easy search for records of every Government land in any part of Nigeria (including State land after the envisaged networking). Centres for Data entry/search for Federal land records have been established in various states nationwide, including the head quarter in Abuja and the archive in Lagos. The system is been expanded and developed gradually, enabling easier access to data and better service to the public.
The desire to modernize our land recording system was born out of the need to enthrone a regime of easy and transparent access to land and land records as well as create and authenticate legitimate title to land. It is also expected to unlock Dead Capital tied up in unregistered interests and enhance the inflow of direct foreign investments. Modernization will ensure the efficacy of land administration and all interests generated by development and use of land.
Functions of FELIS
As a repository and depository of land records, FELIS major function is to register ownership of land in Nigeria and subsequent legal dealings in such land. In addition it would facilitate the formulation of strategies for:
- developing and maintaining standards for a stable and effective system of registering interests in land;
- guarantee title to registered estates and interests in land on behalf of the Federal Government and ultimately the States;
- provide easy access to up-to-date and guaranteed information about registered land;
- publish property price reports periodically, showing the average purchase price per square metre of residential properties;
- organize study tours for State delegations and provide some land registration consultancy services to State governments; and
- offer technical support to States in their computerization efforts.
Land Administration In Nigeria
Land is a major factor of production and a vital element in the socio-economic development of any country or society. In Nigeria it accounts for a great percentage of individual and corporate wealth. Its administration/management greatly influences the development policy and programme of the country as well as the socio-economic course of the people. Invariably the success of the Government has a direct relationship with the inter-relationship of the people to land. Indeed no country can sustain stability within its boundaries unless it has a land tenure system that promotes internal confidence between its people, its commercial enterprises, and its government. The overall aim of land administration in Nigeria is to ensure that the ownership of this natural resource is protected, preserved, and managed in a form that explores all the inherent potentials. We recognize that land registration is a system by which the estates in land are recorded and registered in order to confirm the evidence of title and are committed to improving the system. The ultimate expectation is to facilitate dealings in land and provide State guarantee.
Land registration is generally the function of Government by which the ownership of estates, interests and rights in land, are recorded and indexed, in order to confirm evidence of title and to provide public record of all transactions in land. In many countries such as Australia, England and Wales, and Italy, it is operated as a national system. Currently in Nigeria, individual States operate autonomous land registries such that Nigeria runs a multi-registry system. There is however a current effort to harmonize and unify the operations.
The Land Registry being the repository and depository of land records provides public record of interests/rights formally granted in land. Consequently, it is expected to give great impetus to the land and economic reform programmes of the Government of Nigeria.
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Milestones In Land Registration In Nigeria
Formal recording of rights, interests and obligations in land was introduced in Nigeria by the Colonial Government which established a Land Registry in Lagos in 1863. Subsequent development of the system over a period of nearly one-and-half centuries is set out thus: |
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| 1863 |
Ordinance 9 appointed three Commissioners to inquire into the title under which all the land within the Settlement of Lagos was held. Land Registration later established in Lagos by the Colonial Administration. |
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| 1864 |
Ordinance 10 extended the period of inquiry and empowered the Commissioners to decide on issues of ownership. |
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| 1865 |
Ordinance 9 further extended the period of inquiry to 1866 and allowed the Commissioners to sit as a court in the Chief Magistrate Court. |
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| 1869 |
Ordinance No. 9 empowered the Administrator of the Colony Government of Lagos to adjudicate and arbitrate on claims and title to land. |
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Registration of Deeds in the Colony
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| 1883 |
Ordinance No. 12 (Registration Ordinance 1883) applied to the Gold Coast Colony of which Nigeria then formed a constituent part. |
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| 1888 |
General Registry Ordinance established a General Registry for land, marriages, births, deaths, etc. |
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| 1894 |
Ordinance 2 made the “Registration Ordinance 1883” applicable to Nigeria when Nigeria became a separate colony. This Ordinance established a Registry in Lagos and had power to establish others elsewhere. All Crown grants issued under the Ordinance remained void unless registered within 30 days. |
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| 1895 |
The General Registry Ordinance No. 9 extended the coverage of the General Registry for land, marriages, births, and deaths, etc. |
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Protectorate of Southern Nigeria
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| 1900 |
Land Registry Proclamation No. 16 was the first to deal exclusively with instrument in lands and it also included wills, copy of judgments of Supreme Court, Judge’s title, Judge’s certificate to land sold in execution, affidavit or solemn declaration of ownership and any other writing affecting land situated in the Protectorate of Southern Nigeria. |
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| 1901 |
The Registration Ordinance No. 5 as amended by the Registration Ordinance No. 12 repealed, consolidated and made the General Registry Ordinance more comprehensive. |
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| 1901 |
The Land Registry Proclamation No. 18 as amended by Land Registry Proclamation No. 30 of 1903 amended the law relating to the Registration of Deeds in the Southern Protectorate. |
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Protectorate of Northern Nigeria
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| 1901 |
The Land Registry Proclamation No. 10 was the first legislation relating to the Registration of Instruments affecting land in the protectorate of Northern Nigeria. The High Commissioner had power to establish sub- registry offices wherever he deemed fit. |
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Uniform Rule in the Colony and the Protectorate of Southern Nigeria
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| 1907 |
Land Registration Ordinance amended and consolidated the laws relating to the registration of instruments affecting land in the Colony and Southern Protectorate. Registries were established in Lagos, Calabar, Warri and such other places as the Governor might direct. |
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| 1908 |
The provisions of 1907 law followed the provisions of the 1883 legislation and Land Registry Proclamation. It remained in force until it was repealed by Land Registration Ordinance No. 3 of 1908. |
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Unification of Land Registration System in the Amalgamated Nigeria
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| 1915 |
Land Registration Ordinance No. 12 was used by Government to unify the systems of land registration in the Colony and Southern and Northern Protectorates. It consolidated and amended all laws affecting the registration of instruments over land throughout Nigeria. Together with other amending legislations (Ordinance No. 29 of 1915, No. 12 of 1918 and No. 15 of 1920) Ordinance No. 12 of 1915 became the modern law of registration of documents relating to land. |
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| 1924 |
The Land Registration Ordinance No. 36 replaced the 1915 law as amended up to 1920. This remains, with later amendments, as the present law on the subject of registration of instruments affecting land in Lagos State as well as other States of the Federation, where the law has been re-enacted as a State Law. |
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| 1935 |
Registration of Titles Ordinance (Caps. 134 & 135) No. 13 was enacted to cure some inherent defects in Registrable Instruments. It made an effort to thoroughly investigate every title before registration, confirm the validity of claim of ownership and ensured that instruments are registered with due reference to the land itself. |
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Land Registration in the Regions/States
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| 1967 |
Prior to the creation of States in 1967, there was a Federal Land Registry in Lagos (successor to the 1863 Land Registry) and Regional Land Registries at Ibadan, Enugu, Kaduna and later Benin City. While the former was responsible for the registration of titles/ interests generated within the Federal Territory of Lagos, the later cateredfor the respective Regions. |
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| 1967 |
Following the creation of Lagos State, the then Federal Lands Registry was transferred to the State Government. From then on all Federal land instruments in different parts of the country were registered in Lagos State Land Registry (or in the State where the property was located - optional). |
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The New Federal Lands Registry
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| 1992 |
The Federal Lands Registry (Miscellaneous Provisions) Decree No. 7 of 1992 was enacted to re-establish the Federal Land Registry to exclusively register interests on land belonging to Federal Government. It became operational in 1993 and consequently registration of Federal land titles in State Land Registries ceased. |
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NTDF - National Technical Development Forum
In consonance with the resolution of the National Council on Housing and Urban Development, the Honourable Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, inaugurated the National Technical Development Forum (NTDF) on April 11, 2006 with Rev.Canon Andrus Ukaejeofo as the chairman and programme coordinator. The NTDF in collaboration with the States is to agree on ideals for uniform operations in land administration, establish a consistent data recording format as well as establish acceptable software standards among others. The programme is being pursued through a series of zonal workshops across the six geo-political zones of the country to provide opportunity for understanding the land administration and registration systems that are operated in the different States. It will offer an opportunity harmonize the systems and establish acceptable national standards and procedures. It will also harness existing best-practices in the States for mutual national advantage.
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