Analytical Examination of Constructive Trusts in Property Disputes Between Cohabiting Partners in Nigeria

In the absence of a statutory framework for cohabitation rights, constructive trusts represent one of the few private law mechanisms through which cohabiting partners in Nigeria can assert proprietary interests in shared property upon relationship breakdown. This study provides an analytical examination of the application of constructive trusts in property disputes between cohabiting partners in Nigeria, focusing on decided cases from the South East, South West, and South South geopolitical zones between 2016 and 2024. Using a doctrinal methodology, the research analyses how Nigerian courts have applied the constructive trust doctrine to property contributions, improvement works, and common intention scenarios, comparing the Nigerian judicial approach with the more developed English jurisprudence on Stack v Dowden and Jones v Kernott. Interviews with 20 family and property law practitioners in Lagos, Enugu, and Port Harcourt provide empirical texture on how constructive trust arguments are advanced in practice. Findings reveal that Nigerian courts have applied the constructive trust doctrine in a piecemeal and analytically inconsistent manner, frequently confusing resulting and constructive trusts, and that the doctrine provides inadequate protection to financially weaker partners, typically women, in cohabitation disputes. The study contributes an original critical evaluation of constructive trust doctrine as a cohabitation remedy in Nigeria. Recommendations include the enactment of a cohabitation rights law, judicial guidelines on common intention trusts, and legal aid coverage for cohabitation property disputes. Keywords: constructive trusts, cohabitation, property rights, equitable remedies, family law