This study is aimed at studying the customary land laws and tenurial practices of the
communities of the Nigerian Lower Benue River valley. These communities are the
Idomas and the Tivs of Benue state, and the Alagos, Eggon, Mada, and Gwandara
peoples of Nasarawa State. The methodology adopted was a survey approach which
incorporated primary data captured through questionnaire and interviews. The work
has shown that in the area of study, all the land were acquired originally by settlement
on virgin land. All the communities studied, except Alago, recognise inheritance as a
means of acquiring land. All land in Alago community is held purely communally and not
by families. In Alagoland a member of the community can be dispossessed of his portion
of land for misbehaviour. In all the communities studied, the main mode of obtaining
land by family members, is through allocation to adult males. In Tiv community, the
allocation is on the basis of stirps (mothers’ portions). Partition is unknown among the
communities studied. Pledge is recognized in all the communities studied, except among
the Madas and the Gwandaras, who only recognize pledge of economic trees. When a
pledgee or a customary tenant leaves the land in Idomaland and in Tivland, he can come
back to the land to reap economic trees he planted on the land. Thus, the principle of
quic quid plantatur solo solo cedit does not apply in Tiv and Idoma communities. In the
other communities, the matter is not as clear cut; it will be subject to negotiations or
prior agreement. Customary tenancy is recognized in all the communities studied
except Alago. Alienation is by consultation and consent of family members and the head
of the family or community. All the communities studied do not recognize long usage or
adverse possession as bestowing title on a stranger. All the communities studied
recognize the role of the family head, who must be a male member of the family. He
must be consulted in every land transaction, but his refusal to consent does not nullify
the transaction. In all the communities studied, women cannot head a family and are
not entitled to portions of land. The conclusion from this work is that the land law and
tenure practices of the six communities studied differ slightly from one another, but
differ significantly from those recognized among the Yoruba custom, which is the most
researched of all communities in Nigeria. Most of the concepts of customary land law
among the Yorubas do not apply to the communities studied. It is recommended that
women should head families and should be entitled to portions of land to avoid
discrimination outlawed by the 1999 Constitution. The Alago communal holding custom
should be dismantled to allow for development. The principle of quic quid plantatur
should apply in Benue and Tiv communities so that former tenants and pledgees do not
encumber the land they have left.