ONE issue that more often than not throws up dispute and is likely to continue to generate dispute either between individuals or communities is land dispute and in a bid to resolve the dispute, many citizens erroneously always invite the police or other security operatives
This they do in various ways ranging from writing petitions to hiring some unscrupulous security agents and even thugs to chase their opponents from the disputed piece or parcel of land. The dispute may arise between the vendor and the purchaser or between a bonafide own and a total stranger laying claim to same property.
Dispute may also arise from activities of land grabbers, speculators and other unscrupulous persons purporting to sell or allocate an encumbered piece of land to an innocent purchaser leading to enmity and colossal loss of resources and time.
Indeed, many land owners, developers, their labourers have been maimed or even killed by land grabbers through the assistance of thugs and some unscrupulous security operatives.
The pertinent question now is, is land dispute a matter for the police or other security operatives to settle or is it a civil matter for the courts of competent jurisdiction to handle?
There is no doubt that land transaction is contractual and civil in nature. To that extent, the police or any security operatives cannot settle disputes arising therefrom as it is the court that has the competence to do so.
Our courts have never hesitated in holding that police or any security operatives have no powers to settle contractual disputes including land tussle under the law. For instance, in the case of IBIYEYE V. GOLD (2012) ALL FWLR (PT 659) 1074, the supreme court held thus
“As I went through the facts of this case, I was wondering how a purely civil matter could easily metamorphose and transubstantiate into a purely criminal case. The end result now is that the Appellant has suffered irreparable damage, disgrace, shame, odiousness and untold hardship in the hand of the Police that is constitutionally and legally saddled with prosecution of criminal offences. The police have muzzled the rights and freedom of Nigerians even where cases are clearly outside their jurisdiction, power or corridor. If this is not curbed, everybody including the judicial officers will suffer always from floodgates of civil matters being hijacked by the police and transmuted into crimes. If this is not tackled, everybody would have suffered in the merciless hand of the police who has become a law unto itself in this country. The primary duty of the Police by Section 4 of the police Act is the prevention of crime, investigation and detection of crime and the prosecution of offenders”
Similarly, the courts have held that police are not arbitrators hence cannot settle civil matters. This is the position in NWADIUGWU v. IGP & ORS (2015) LPELR-26027(CA) wherethe Court held that “Police Officers are neither debt collectors nor Arbitrators and Section 24 of the Police Act 2004 does not list settlement of disputes or collection of debts amongst the duties of the Police.”
Again in onogoruwa v State (1993)LPELR,Niki Tobi JCA as he then was had this to say “There is no law known to me where a breach of agreement between two parties which has no element of criminality can result in a criminal charge or subsequent conviction. At best, it can be a breach of contractual relationship which the criminal law lacks legal capacity or competence to enforce or punish”
Indeed, engaging Police officers in a civil matter amounts to breach of fundamental human rights and
both the police officers involved and the person that invited them can be sued for aggravated and exemplary damages.
This position has been adumbrated in MCLAREN V. JENNINGS (2003) FWLR (PT 154) 528 where the court had this to say “When, as in the circumstances of this action, a purely civil matter is reported to the Police, such a person cannot go scot-free as the report ought not to have been made at all since it is not within the purview of Police duties. It is a report made malafide and he will be equally liable for the action taken by the Police irrespective of whether he actively instigated them or not, since he had no business involving the Police in a purely civil matter in the first place. Such conduct which portrays disregard of the law and is aimed at using the coercive powers of the State to punish a contracting party in a purely civil matter ought to be mulcted in exemplary damages”.
Despite this plethora of court pronouncements clearly showing that police cannot dabble into civil matters, many citizens unfortunately are still inundating the police with civil matters particularly land disputes,
Funny enough after the initial arrests, the security operatives more often than not step aside from the matter reminding complainants that land dispute is outside their jurisdiction. This puts the parties to the dispute not just back to square one but indeed a frustrated and embittered position.
To avoid this parties to such disputes on land or other transactions on contractual relationship should seek legal advice from a legal practitioner rather than engaging law enforcement agents who lack the capacity to dispose the matter.
If proper legal steps are taken the huge loss of resources, acrimony and man hours wasted in needless arrests detention and re- arrests would be channeled to more meaningful ventures. In the same vein, violence that thugs leave in their trails during land disputes can be drastically reduced.
It is not too late to adopt the due process in settling civil disputes rather than engaging in arrests and counter arrests that will not yield any meaningful solution to the dispute.
