Survey Law

1. Citation. This Law may be cited as the Survey Law.

2. Interpretation. In this Law - “owner”, in relation to any land, means any person receiving rents or profits from any tenant or occupier thereof whether on his own account or as agent or trustee for any other person or who would receive the same if the land were let; “public survey” means any survey made for the purpose of defining the boundaries of any land which is owned by the State or any public authority, or in which the State or any public authority possesses or disposes of any interest, or any survey which forms part ofthe general survey ofthe Delta State or of any part thereof; “registered surveyor” means a surveyor registered in accordance with the Surveyor Registration Council of Nigeria Act; [LFN Cap. S18.] “registrable instrument” means any document relating to land the registration of which is required by any written law; “Survey Department” means the organisation of the Government exercising functions relating to the survey of land; “surveyor” means a registered surveyor; “Surveyor-General” means the Surveyor-General of Delta State, and, in relation to any function delegated to an officer of the Survey Department under the provisions of section 15, includes such officer.

3. Plans attached to registrable instrument or tendered in evidence to be signed by surveyor. No map, plan or diagram of land - (a) if prepared after the 1st day of June 1918, shall be accepted for registration with any registrable instrument which is required by any written law to contain a map, plan or diagram; and [No. 34 of 1974.] (b) if prepared after the 20th day of October, 1897 shall, save for good cause shown to the court, be admitted in evidence in any court, unless the map, plan or diagram has been prepared and signed by a surveyor or is a copy of a map, plan or diagram so prepared and signed and is certified by a surveyor as being a true copy.

4. Right to enter land for public survey purposes. (1) For the purposes of any public survey the Surveyor-General or any surveyor authorised by him may enter upon any land with such assistants as may reasonably be required, and may affix or set up or place thereon or therein trigonometrical stations, survey beacons, marks or poles, and do all things necessary for such a survey. (2) The surveyor shall, when practicable, give reasonable notice to the owner or occupier ofthe land of his intention to enter thereon.

5. Compensation. Compensation out of public revenues shall be payable to the owner of any crops or trees cut or damaged in the exercise of any of the powers conferred by section 4, and if any question shall arise as to the amount of compensation to be paid or the right of a claimant to recover compensation to be paid such question shall in default of agreement between the Surveyor-General and all persons concerned be finally determined by a magistrate on application made by the Surveyor-General or any person authorised by him in that behalf or by any person claiming to be entitled to compensation under the provisions of this subsection: Provided that no such application shall be granted if it is by a person claiming to be entitled to compensation and is made more than sixty days after the date «on which the crops or trees in respect of which the claim is brought were cut or damaged.

6. Power of surveyor to enter upon land. Any surveyor may, for the purpose of surveying any land which he is employed to, survey, enter on and pas§ over any land, whether private or public, causing as little inconvenience to the owner or occupier of such land as is consistent with his Julies.

7. Penalty for removing survey and boundary marks. Any unauthorised person who shall willfully obliterate, remove or injure any trigonometrical station, survey beacon, mark or pole or any boundary mark affixed, set up or placed for the purpose of any public survey or any survey ordered by a court shall be liable to a fine of two thousand naira or to imprisonment for three months or to both, and in addition may be ordered to, pay the cost of repairing or replacing the thing obliterated, removed or damaged .and of making any survey rendered necessary by the act for which the conviction is had.

8. Duty of owners and occupiers in relation to survey marks. (1) It shall be the? duty, of the owner and occupier of any land on or in, or on the boundaries of which any trigonometrical station, survey beacon, mark or pole has been affixed, set up or placed, to preserve such trigonometrical station, survey beacons, mark or pole, and forthwith to report to the nearest officer of the Survey Department if the same shall be obliterated, removed or injured or shall require repair. (2) Any owner or occupier failing to comply with the provisions of this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a fine office hundred naira.

9. Duty of chief, local government council or public officer. (1) It shall be the duty of every chief, local government council or public officer - (a) to prevent the obliteration, removal or injury of any trigonometrical station, survey beacon, mark or pole or boundary mark within the local limit of his or its jurisdiction; and (b) forthwith to report to the nearest officer of the Survey Department any such obliteration, removal or injury. (2) Any chief, local government council or public officer failing to comply with the provisions of this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a fine of five hundred naira.

10. Penalty for uncovering or neglecting to recover survey beacons or marks. (1) Any person who unless acting on the authority of the Surveyor-General uncovers any survey beacon or mark buried below the surface of the ground, or covered with earth, stone or other material, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a fine of ten thousand naira. (2) Any person who, having uncovered a survey beacon or mark with the authority of the Survey-General shall neglect - (a) in the case of a covered beacon or mark to cover the same in the prescribed manner; or (b) in the case of a buried beacon or mark properly to fill up the hole with the same material as the ground or road under which the beacon or mark is buried, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a fine often thousand naira.

11. Reward to informer. Any informer who provides information which leads to a conviction which is secured against any person of an offence under section 7 or section 10 of this Law or under section 458 of the Criminal Code may, with the approval of the Governor, be paid a reward not exceeding one thousand naira out of the public revenues.

12. Execution of order at the expense of person disobeying it. If the owner or occupier of any land, or any other person, being ordered in accordance with the provisions of this Law to perform any act, fails to perform such act within a reasonable time, the officer who gave the order may, after giving notice to Such owner, occupier or other person of his intention to do so, cause1 the act to be performed; and the expenses incurred in such performance shall be payable by such owner, occupier or other person.

13. Penalty for obstructing surveyors. Any person who willfully obstructs, hinders, resists or threatens any survey or in the execution of his duty in or about the conduct of any public survey or any survey ordered by a court, or any workman or other person acting in aid of any such surveyor, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a fine of twenty thousand naira or imprisonment for six months or both.

14. Recovery of monies due. Any sum due under the provisions of this Law may be sued for and recovered by the Surveyor-General or any person authorised by him by action in any court of competent jurisdiction.

15. Delegation of functions of Surveyor-General. (1) The Surveyor-General may by notice in the State Gazette delegate any of his functions under this Law to any officer of the Survey Department by name or office, except the function prescribed by this section. (2) Any such delegation shall be revocable at will and no delegation shall prevent the exercise by the Surveyor-General of any function.

16. Power to make regulations. The Governor may make regulations - (a) prescribing the manner in which surveys are to be made, the records to be kept by surveyors and the manner of keeping the same; (b) prescribing the manner of the demarcation of boundaries in connection with surveys; (c) with regard to plans of surveys and their preparation and the matters to be shown thereon; (d) with regard to the publication, issue, service and form of notices to be published, issued or served under this Law or regulations made thereunder; (e) prescribing the returns to be made by surveyors to the Surveyor-General; (f) requiring surveyors to report to the Surveyor-General matters connected with surveys on which they are engaged or with previous surveys ascertained by them during the course of their work; (g) for securing the maintenance of boundary marks in their correct position and the preservation of the same; (h) providing for the checking of surveys alleged to be erroneous, and for the incidence of the expenses of such checking; (i) providing for the checking and correction of tapes and instruments used by surveyors; (j) providing for and regulating the inspection and the taking of copies of plans of surveys in any office of the Survey Department; (k) prescribing the fees which may be charged for services rendered by the Survey Department of the Delta State; (l) prescribing any other matters which this Law requires or authorises to be prescribed by him; and (m) generally for giving effect to the purposes of this Law so far as the Surveyor- General and the Governor are the appropriate authorities therefore.