Faculty of Law

Land administration systems, largely shaped by legal frameworks like the Land Use Act, playapivotal role in managing land as a vital natural resource, ensuring its sustainable utilizationanddevelopment. This research delves into the multifaceted landscape of land management, encompassing social, legal, cultural, economic, and technical dimensions within whichlandadministrators navigate. Focusing on the Land Use Act, this study meticulously evaluatesitsefficacy in addressing the underlying challenges it was designed to alleviate, withparticularscrutiny on Section 47. Emphasis is placed on scrutinizing the limitations arising fromtheAct'snon-justiciability concerning the adequacy of compensation. Employing a doctrinal researchmethodology, the research examines legal principles and statutes to elucidate theseissues. Findings reveal a disjunction between the objectives of the Land Use Act and its practicaloutcomes, attributing this disparity to inherent flaws within the Act itself and challengesinitsimplementation. Consequently, the study advocates for legislative amendments to aligntheActwith contemporary realities, thereby enhancing its feasibility and effectiveness in practice. Thisresearch underscores the imperative of legislative evolution to address the dynamic complexitiesof land administration, advocating for reforms that resonate with the present socio-economicandlegal landscape.

According to Black’s Law Dictionary, police brutality refers to the use of excessive
and/or unnecessary force by the police in dealing with civilians.1 This misconduct may
take different forms, including physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or other
abuses of power. The term is often used broadly to describe a range of human rights
violations such as beatings, racial abuse, unlawful killings, torture, and the
indiscriminate use of riot-control measures against peaceful protesters.2
In Nigeria, police brutality has become one of the most pressing human rights concerns.
Instances of extrajudicial killings, torture, unlawful detention, and harassment are
widespread, despite the existence of constitutional guarantees and legal frameworks
regulating police conduct. The victims are often ordinary citizens, particularly young
people, who lack the resources to seek redress.
Globally, police violence is not unique to Nigeria. In the United States, for example, The
Washington Post database records that 892 people were shot and killed by the police in
2016, though this figure had to be compiled from media reports, public records, and
social media posts due to weak official recordkeeping.3 Such gaps in transparency are
themselves a form of injustice. High-profile cases such as the killing of George Floyd in
May 2020 by Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin sparked international outrage and
mass protests against police brutality.

Prostitution is commonly described in doctrinal literature as a prototypical “victimless crime”; a consensual exchange between adults that, on its face, harms no third party. Yet, in contexts marked by poverty, gender inequality and organised trafficking, the victimless label may obscure the exploitation, coercion and public-health harms surrounding commercial sex.

This study critically examines the impact of prostitution‟s criminalisation through the lens of the Edo State Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Law 2018. The analysis proceeds in three stages. First, conceptual and theoretical groundwork distinguishes „victimless crimes‟ from offences that produce direct victims; the study positions natural law, Mill‟s harm principle and sociological theory as competing frameworks for normative evaluation. Second, the paper evaluates the 2018 Law alongside the Edo State Criminal Law, the Criminal Code, the Child‟s Rights Act and the VAPP Law, focusing on prohibitions, penal sanctions, victim-protection mechanisms and enforcement modalities. Third, the practical impact of criminalisation is appraised: evidence of enforcement patterns, institutional capacity, stigma, and the tendency for prohibition to drive prostitution underground are weighed against the Law‟s stated objectives of prevention, prosecution and victim rehabilitation.

The study recommends recalibrating the legal response toward a rights-centred, harm-reduction approach: sharpen enforcement against trafficking and procurement, decriminalise consensual adult sex work or regulate it to enable health and labour protections, strengthen victim-centred identification and tackle socio-economic drivers through targeted social policy. Such a balanced path would better align legal instruments with the realities of Edo State, safeguarding human dignity while disrupting trafficking networks.

This study examines the legal implications of industrial land use in Nigeria, focusing on the intersection of property rights and environmental law. As land serves both economic and ecological functions, its regulation requires a balance between private ownership rights and environmental sustainability. Chapter One introduces the study, outlining its background, objectives, methodology, and significance, emphasizing the need for legal reforms that reconcile industrial growth with ecological protection.

Chapter Two provides theoretical and historical foundations, defining key concepts and reviewing existing literature. It examines legal doctrines such as the public trust doctrine and eminent domain to highlight regulatory challenges.

Chapter Three analyses Nigeria’s legal and institutional frameworks governing property rights and environmental law, critically assessing the Land Use Act, the Environmental Impact Assessment Act, and other relevant statutes. It identifies enforcement gaps, jurisdictional overlaps, and regulatory inefficiencies. Chapter Four expands the discussion to socio-economic, political, and environmental dimensions, assessing industrial land use’s impact on communities, biodiversity, and sustainable development. It includes a comparative analysis of global best practices to identify policy lessons for Nigeria. Chapter Five synthesizes key findings and offers recommendations, advocating for enhanced legal enforcement, stricter environmental regulations, and improved public participation in land use decisions.

The study concludes by emphasizing the need for a regulatory framework that ensures sustainable industrial land use while protecting environmental and community rights.

The Nigerian Constitution under Chapter IV provides for an expansive Catalogue of fundamental rights, yet the realization and enforcement of these rights remain significantly constrained in practice. This thesis critically interrogates the barriers to effective enforcement of fundamental human rights in Nigeria, with a particular focus on the legal framework, judicial attitudes, procedural constraints, and socio-cultural impediments that collectively render rights protection largely aspirational. It evaluates the adequacy of the existing enforcement regime, including the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009, and exposes deep institutional limitations such as overloaded courts, cultural barriers, security sector impunity, and the weak reach of legal aid mechanisms.Drawing on comparative lessons from other common law jurisdictions, especially India, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the work highlights alternative enforcement models that have widened access to justice, embraced public interest litigation, and mainstreamed international human rights norms. The research adopts doctrinal and comparative methodologies and relies on primary legal sources, judicial decisions, and empirical data from official reports to provide a grounded analysis. The study argues that meaningful enforcement of human rights in Nigeria requires an interlocking suite of statutory, procedural, institutional, and cultural reforms. It concludes with robust recommendations for reforming court processes, enhancing judicial activism, strengthening legal aid, and institutionalizing public education to bridge the gap between normative guarantees and lived realities of human rights in Nigeria.