Nigeria: February 8, 2002

Archives

Land disputes continue to cause much of the unrest in the three years since the end of the military dictatorship. The lad ownership laws encourage communal ownership of land, and a lot of land is under long term lease from one tribe to another. A common cause of dispute is the sudden refusal of one tribe to pay rent to another tribe on land it has been occupying for a century or more. Much land is also held by feudal chiefs. Population growth, and the inability to buy and sell much land is causing more unrest and violence.