Acquisition and protection of church property under Nigerian law: issues, challenges and some lessons for churches

Abstract

Section 38 of the Constitution of Nigeria 1999 guarantees freedom of religion for churches and other religious organisations. This freedom allows churches to acquire and manage their own property to carry out their religious objectives. However, these religious institutions are to comply with the civil law requirements regarding acquisition, management and disposition of their property. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in legal disputes, which may adversely impact on the churches. This article accordingly analyses some case examples to pinpoint some legal issues arising from the processes of acquisition and management of property by Nigerian churches. This is against the backdrop of the increasing legal disputes involving the acquisition and management of church property in the country. The article observes among others that the churches’ failure to have good procedures to ensure that they conduct due diligence and comply with the civil law standards regarding the acquisition of property can be attributed as contributing to the increasing lawsuits. The article further implicates most lawyers that represent churches in lawsuits as not having adequate knowledge of church law and its workings. Following the above findings, the article proffers some recommendations to aid churches in the effective management of their properties.