RECENT TRENDS IN THE LAW OF TRESPASS TO LAND IN NIGERIA: AN APPRAISAL

Land is far more than merely the physical soil. Land Ownership gives the holders the rights to all natural resources on the land. There is no branch of law which reflects the true picture of the society more than the law of tort. The reason being that it is a branch of law that deals with the conduct of the people amongst themselves. Because of the interaction people have with themselves in the environment, there are bound to be friction which will bring about injuries or wrongdoings, whether direct or indirect and for this reason, the law of tort is put in place to pay compensation to persons affected by the wrongful conduct of others. One of the major facets of tort is Trespass. The term trespass has been used in different senses by Lawyers and laymen but the most satisfactory and most conventional of all is that trespass is the unlawful interference with one`s person, land, and chattel. The law of trespass seeks to protect or compensate it`s victim and its bases is the prevention of breaches of harmony. Trespass can be classified into three types namely; Trespass to Person, Trespass to Land, and Trespass to Chattel. Trespass to land is the entrance upon another person’s land without authorization whether forcible or not. Trespass to land can generally be defined as a direct physical interference with the possession of land without legal authority to do so. Trespass to land can be by wrongful entry, remaining on land, placing things on land, and trespass above and beneath the surface of land. Trespass might be committed by a person physically invading another person’s land or by using a material thing to do so, such as throwing stones on another person’s land. Allowing cattle to roam on another person’s property is also considered trespass to land. When there is no interference with possession, there is no trespass. Trespass includes going beyond the purpose for which a person has entered certain premises. When there is justification to enter premise of others, there is no trespass. A man is not responsible for involuntary trespass, such as when he is thrown into someone else’s land. But he is liable if the intrusion is purposeful. Trespassing is a violation of possession rather than ownership. As a result, person in real possession can sue even if his ownership was improper in comparison to rightful owner. The trespasser is not permitted to use the defense of “jus tertii.”- title of third person. The trespasser cannot argue that the title of the third party is superior to the title of the person in possession.