THE TEMPORAL ORDER RULE OF PRIORITY AND THE BONALFIDE PURCHASER OF LEGAL ESTATE IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Circumstances may rise when two or more persons will be laying claim to a given property having derived their individual interests at different time from the person who previously owned the property in question. The issue to be resolved in such circumstances is how to determine whose interests among the rival claimants would first be recognized and enforced. The problem might be easy to resolve where all the competing interests could be settled from the total value of the given property. The situation however, could become complicated where the various competing interests cannot be satisfied by the total value of the property that is subject to these interests. In order to resolve this logjam, equity has come in aid through the maxim that “when there are two competing equities, the first in time is stronger in low” Qui prior est. tempore porties est. jure. This paper therefore examines the temporal order rule of priority in determining priority of competing interests in a given property. In discussing this, reference will be made to the application of the rule of transaction under Native Law, Land Use Act and Islamic Law in Nigeria. The paper also shall examines the effect of the doctrine of Bonafide purchaser of the legal estate for value on the Temporal order rule and make a strong case for a cleartly defined and well settled order of priority.