CLAIMANTS’ PERCEPTION OF COMPULSORY LAND ACQUISITION AND COMPENSATION IN ONDO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Compulsory land acquisition under the purview of the present land law in Nigeria often resulted to displacing landowners economically, culturally and physically, and compensation paid had been found inadequate. This study, therefore, analysed claimant’s perception of land acquisition and compensation exercise embarked upon by Ondo State Government between 2010 and 2012. The main focus was on attitudes of claimant’s vis-à-vis factors influencing claimants’ attitude, variability between compensation paid and assessed value of acquired properties, and the level of satisfaction of claimants with acquisition process in the study areas. The core data was generated from a field survey of selected land acquisition projects in Akure, Auga, Igbokoda, Ikota, Ondo and Owo. Nine hundred and seventy-six (976) respondents were randomly selected out of one thousand, eight hundred and forty (1840) sample frame that constituted claimants’ in these study areas. 703 (72.03%) were retrieved from the close-ended questionnaire administered to the claimants upon which data analysis was carried out using descriptive quantitative statistics. Findings revealed that claimants perceived compulsory land acquisition and compensation to be breach of individual rights. It was also revealed that claimants considered the whole acquisition process a great loss; as the process was characterised with short acquisition notice, delay in payment of compensation; wrong interpretation of the provisions of relevant acquisition laws; imposition of high social costs; loss of social and economic ties; cessation of income-generating activities and its effects on claimants’ livelihoods; and inability of compensation to sufficiently replace assets. The study also showed wide variation in compensation paid and assessed values of claimant’s property in the study areas. Suggestions for policy measures offered based on research findings among others was that claimants’ views must be attended to at every stage of the exercise.