The Chief Imam of Lagos, Sheikh Sulaimon Abu, has urged Muslim communities to have proper documentation of their Mosque property to avoid forfeiting them to the government in future.
Abu made the appeal during a one-day sensitisation programme tagged “Mosque Documentation in Lagos State," held in Lagos on Saturday.
He said there were lots of gaps among the Muslim communities concerning the Islamic faith in Lagos.
Abu said that in any place where there was government, there were standards and processes, adding that the Qur’an emphasized on proper documentation of properties.
“In respect of Mosque building, there must be processing such as approval because each state has its own standard, and for instance in Lagos, there is what we call Master Plan.
” Before embarking on Mosque building, one must follow the due process by approaching the Ministry of Land for proper advice and information.
“At the divisional level, we are going to create legal units to synergise with the Muslim communities in processing proper documentation of Mosque property,” Abu said.
He also pleaded with Nigerians to stop building houses that would block water channels, adding that people were being affected by flooding from water blockage.
The chief imam said that flooding was caused by human factors and urged Lagos residents to obey the law of the land to enable them to coexist peacefully in society.
A legal practitioner in Lagos, with over 30 years of experience, Musediq Sanni, said he had discovered from 13 Mosques, cases he handled in Lagos that they lacked proper documentation.
Sanni who was also the convener of the programme, said that Al Qur’an had stated that when there was a contract, it should be written.
He said that when Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) got the first Mosque land in Medina, he told his disciples that he would pay for the land and write it down.
Sanni said that the sensitisation would continue in all the Muslim divisions in Lagos, to assist them on documentation.
The Chief Judge of Lagos, Kazeem Alogba, who was represented by Chief Registrar, Lagos State Judiciary, Tajudeen Elias, commended the convener for sensitising Lagos clerics to the need to document their land property and Mosque projects.
“It has been unfortunate that have been happening of recent where people are not having proper documentation by not complying with the physical planning directive of Lagos State.
” This sensitisation will further reduce incidents of demolition of illegal lands,” Alogba said.
He advised property owners to get proper documentation and also to comply with Lagos State Law to avoid loss of property.
The former Special Adviser on Communication to the ex-Governor of Lagos, Hakeem Bello, said according to Sanni, that many mosque property being given to communities had been collected by deceased relations due to improper documentation.
Bello said that the programme was to enlighten the Muslim communities on how to document property, to avoid forfeiture.
He said Sanni’s efforts were to enable Lagos Muslim communities to realise the provisions of the Constitution that required citizens to comply with the law.
Bello urged property owners to do proper documentation according to the law to avoid loss in future.
One of the lecturers, Alhaji Olawale Ojikutu of Land Bureau, said that land and property were the most significant assets of any individual or group, adding that many societies had introduced individual and collective control over land.
He said that land provided a major source of conflicts in urban and rural societies around the world, adding that land created feuds among families and neighbours which could be traced back to conflicting claims over inheritance, boundaries and rights.
Ojikutu said that land property was a legal document that served as evidence for ownership of landed properties which also gave the ownership right to control how land would be used.
“Various land ownership structures had existed in Nigeria before and after the independence in 1960.
“The current policy instrument guiding land allocation and ownership was promulgated on the 26th March 1978 as Land Use Act, embedded in the constitution of the country.
” The Land Use Act 1978, it must be said, has not destroyed or fundamentally altered the concept of land ownership in Nigeria that was in existence before its promulgation in 1978,” Ojikutu said.
He mentioned some requirements for a Certificate of Occupancy such as a duly completed application, survey plan, and application letter addressed to the Executive Secretary, Land Use and Allocation Committee.
A General Practitioner, Muhammed Iskil Lawal, said all Mosques built belonged to Allah, adding that God said in the Qur’an that whoever built a mosque for Him that He had built a house for such a person in paradise.
Lawal said that one-third of the deceased property could be given to relations, communities and the wife if the property owner stated in the will before the demise of the owner.
A lawyer, Shakirullah Obale, expressed the need for mosque documentation for proper ownership, adding that he had attended to five mosque matters.
He added that after the demise of the owners, beneficiaries usually came to claim ownership.
“Most of the Mosques being donated to communities have no proper documentation. A mosque is a landed property in respect of the structure being put on it.
“For transfer of property, there must be a document, such as a Deed of Assignment, and without that, nothing has been given.
“The only benefit that persons may have is if the mosque has taken the possession of the property for 12 years, the issue of limitation law can now come in,” Lawal said.
He said that any Church or Mosque property without any documentation could be forfeited, except if they had taken over the possession for over 12 years.