THE USE OF POWER OF ATTORNEY IN ALIENATION OF LAND IN NIGERIA: AN APPRAISAL OF THE CASE OF IBRAHIM V OBAJE

Abstract

A Power of Attorney has always been used as an instrument of delegation, created as a deed poll where a principal donates specific powers to an attorney to be executed in the name and on behalf of the principal. In some instances, a power of attorney can be made to be irrevocable when backed up by consideration or coupled with an interest. Such irrevocable Powers of Attorney are usually given to a purchaser of land in a land transaction pending the transfer of the legal interest in the subject matter. The Supreme Court of Nigeria, in the case of Ibrahim v Obaje, delivered a judgment that appeared to depart from the traditional use of a Power of Attorney, as an instrument of delegation, when it held that in certain instances it could be used to transfer interest in land, without the need to obtain the consent of the Governor as required by the Land Use Act, 1978. The paper adopts the doctrinal methodology by analyzing judicial decisions relating to the subject under discourse and opinions of other authors. This paper examined the decision of the Court, against the traditional purpose and use of a Power of Attorney and the mandatory requirement of the consent of the Governor or Minister of FCT for a valid alienation of legal interest in land. As part of its recommendations, the paper upheld the rule against subdelegation in land alienation.