SECTION FIVE INDIVIDUAL ECONOMIC SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS: ARTICLES 14-18. CHAPTER 12: - Right to Property and Housing: - Article 14 Constitutional Legislative and Judicial Measures 1. Right to Property: Sections 43 and 44 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 guarantee the right to acquire and own immovable property anywhere in Nigeria, and the right to prompt, due and adequate compensation when any moveable property or any interest in any immovable property is compulsorily acquired by government. 2. Right to Housing / Shelter: - Although the Constitution does not expressly guarantee the right to housing, a combined reading of Sections 16 and 41, in addition to other legislation disclose the following: a) That the Nigerian State shall direct its policy towards ensuring that suitable and adequate shelter is provided for all its citizens; b) That citizens have the right to move about freely and reside in any part of the country they so desire; c) That the Constitution expressly preserves the general laws governing leases, tenancies, mortgages, charges, bills of sale or any contractual rights or obligations, while allowing for the compulsory acquisition of property that is in a dangerous state or property that is injurious to health of human beings, plants or animals. It also permits (subject to the prompt payment of compensation) damage to buildings in the course of providing or maintaining the supply or distribution of energy, fuel, water, sewage, telecommunications services or other public facilities and utilities. d) That the Recovery of Premises Act, was passed to lay down a general procedure for the recovery of possession of premises and confer a measure of security of tenure on tenants and occupiers of premises in all parts of Nigeria. The Act expressly prohibits forcible and violent eviction of tenants and prescribes the steps to be taken by a landlord in order to end a tenancy. It vests supervisory jurisdiction over tenancy relations on the courts and discourages self-help. The Act lays down the length of notice required to properly and effectively terminate periodic tenancies as well as the mode of service of statutory notices on the tenant. It also provides guidelines for the courts on how to proceed in matters involving the recovery of premises. The Courts have been able to rise to the defence of citizens where government agencies have abused the provisions of the Land Use Act 1978 and the Public Lands Acquisition Act 1976, to dispossess citizens of landed property under the guise of the "overriding public interest" and "public purposes" clauses. Most recently the Court of Appeal in the case of TIMOTHY v. OFORKA (2008) ALL FWLR 1370 at 1381 declared that a native law and custom, which does not allow women to deal in land, was not only unconstitutional but also repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience. 65