Documents you will need to buy and secure land in Nigeria without Omo-Onile, or any land dispute palaver made easy… Part 2
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I will recommend you read the previous articles @ www.eazybuilders.com/blog/ so you can get some foundational knowledge of land acquisition in Nigeria, you can always do that after reading through this one.
I will be delving into the documents required for land acquisition in Nigeria, following all advice given to you on this blog will go a long way to make your purchased property permanently yours and your children’s inheritance.
If you think this article is for you, then go ahead and enjoy your read!
Alright guys, Let’s dig into it!
Documents needed for land acquisition in Nigeria… Part 2
- Excision
The Land Use Act puts all land under the government- under the state governor, but the law also recognizes ancestral owners and gives them the power to reclaim it if the government has no intention to use it; when this is done it is referred to as EXCISION
Once this has been recorded, documented in the government official gazette of the state- excision has been approved and the land can be used for whatever one deems fit. Buying land without excision means that the government can seize it anytime even if you bought it legitimately from the Baale (Community Head) of the community.
- Gazette
This is simply an official record where government details are spelled out, A gazette revealed the communities that have been granted excision and the number of acres or hectares of land that the government has given back to them.
It is important to note that it is within those excised acres or hectares that (the communities) are entitled to sell its land to the public and nothing outside that, this is where land grabbers play on their victims by selling government acquired or committed land to unsuspecting buyers. This is why you must do the proper due diligence so you won’t lose your hard-earned money.
If in the event the government needs your land that has been gazette later in the future, you will be compensated even if you do not have a C of O.
This is how to identify a real gazette document:
- The first page of the gazette must contain the following
- The logo of the country and inscription of the title “LAGOS STATE OF NIGERIA OFFICIAL GAZETTE” (See attached below).
- Underneath it must have the Number, Volume, Pages, Date, and the Location into law.
- It also contains the list of the villages, settlements, and the total pieces of land excised to the community.
- The inner pages will show the following;
- The description or area of villages that has been excised.
- The number of acres or hectares that was excised to the ancestral owners.
- The boundaries of the beacons start and stop.
- The page the description of the village excised.
With the help of a competent surveyor, one can get detailed information about any land anywhere in Nigeria, this is usually done by conducting a land information search at the office of the surveyor-general to verify if the land you want to purchase is under government acquisition or it has an excision recorded.
- Certificate of Occupancy
A Certificate of Occupancy, also known as the C of O is a document issued by state governments in Nigeria to landowners and property buyers as legitimate proof of ownership. This document also spells out what the land can be used for; residential, commercial, or mixed development. This official land document also states that the land is a lease to the individual for 99 years.
- Governors consent
To have a complete rest of mind, you need to get this document for your land; it makes the transfer of ownership legal.
One of the advantages of the Governor’s Consent document on your land is that you can transfer your land to another person without going back to the ‘Baales’ and ‘Omoniles’ to sign your Deed of Assignment (DOA) and Form 1C, which are compulsory requirements needed to process governors’ consent.
- Receipt
This is the last document on the list, and this is intentional, (as this sometimes does not hold water in proving ownership of land). Anytime you are about to receive this document from a seller you must do your due diligence to make sure that the issuer has the authority to give you a receipt to the property, it is common knowledge especially in Lagos that the family selling the land might have different factions. What this means is that you might be harassed by the other factions if they do not know about the transaction, although this could sometimes be easily sorted.
I do not have so much confidence in this document because there have been cases where a piece of land has been sold to different buyers, and each buyer has his or her receipt. I would rather advise you to authenticate the issuer of the receipt and solidify your ownership by doing all that has been recommended in this blog (part 1 and part 2)
