Petroleum Law and Agricultural Land Use Conflicts: Evidence from Nasarawa State

This study investigates conflicts between petroleum land use rights and agricultural land tenure in Nasarawa State, North Central Nigeria, where both oil pipeline infrastructure and subsistence farming coexist in contested spatial contexts. Pipeline right-of-way acquisitions under the Land Use Act 1978 frequently displace smallholder farmers without equivalent livelihood restoration, generating disputes that rarely reach formal legal channels. Using a qualitative participatory research approach, the study conducts interviews with thirty smallholder farmers, four traditional rulers, and three NNPC Limited community relations officers in Lafia, Keana, and Kokona LGAs. Land use maps and NNPC pipeline corridor documents are used as supplementary secondary data. Findings reveal that customary tenure rights are subordinated to petroleum infrastructure interests without adequate negotiation or compensation, and that affected farmers have minimal awareness of their legal rights. The research recommends community land rights education programmes, mandatory pre-acquisition consultations with customary landholders, and the introduction of agricultural livelihood restoration plans into petroleum project licensing conditions. Keywords: petroleum land use, agricultural conflicts, Nasarawa State, Land Use Act, customary tenure.