The Role of Sharia Courts in Resolving Land Disputes in Borno State, North East Nigeria

Land disputes are among the most litigated matters in northern Nigerian courts, and Sharia courts in Borno State claim jurisdiction over land-related disputes where the parties are Muslim and consent to Islamic adjudication. The interaction between Islamic law of property, the Land Use Act 1978, and customary land tenure practices creates a complex jurisdictional landscape for land dispute resolution in Borno State. This study examines the role and effectiveness of Sharia courts in resolving land disputes in Borno State. A case study approach is applied to thirty-five land dispute files from Maiduguri Sharia courts spanning 2010 to 2022, supplemented by structured interviews with ten Sharia judges and eight land tenure practitioners. The study investigates the doctrinal basis for Islamic property rights claims, the relationship between Sharia adjudication and Land Use Act provisions, evidentiary challenges in proving land ownership, and the enforceability of Sharia court land decisions. Existing literature identifies the coexistence of statutory, customary, and Islamic land tenure systems in Borno as creating overlapping and potentially contradictory adjudication frameworks. The Islamic law of Milkiyya (ownership) and the doctrine of Tasarruf (possession and disposition rights) provide the doctrinal reference. Findings are expected to reveal jurisdictional ambiguities affecting enforceability. Recommendations address legislative harmonisation of land dispute jurisdiction and inter-court coordination mechanisms in Borno State. Keywords: land disputes, Sharia courts, Borno State, property law, North East Nigeria.