MR. ABIODUN ADEBO V. EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR OF OYO STATE, HON. COMMISSIONER FOR LANDS,HOUSING & SURVEY, OYO STATE AND HON. ATTORNEY-GENERAL & COMMISSIONER FOR JUSTICE, OYO STATE

TIJJANI ABUBAKAR, J.S.C. (Delivering the Leading Judgment): This appeal presents a legal conundrum at the intersection of land administration, constitutional authority, and the exercise of executive powers in the name of public interest. At its heart is a dispute over the revocation of a statutory right of occupancy covered by a certificate of occupancy issued to the appellant over a parcel of State land in the Agodi Government Reserved Area of Ibadan, Oyo State, and whether such revocation satisfied the stringent requirements of the Land Use Act, particularly section 28 thereof.

The appellant, a private individual, was granted a lease over Plot No. 1, located along Government House/Ikolaba Grammar School Road, Agodi G.R.A., Ibadan. Following the grant, a Certificate of Occupancy dated the 18th day of May 1999 was issued to him by the Oyo State Government, signifying lawful possession and legal registered interest over the said plot of land. The land, as the records revealed, formed pa…