Can I please get advice on the legal process for land ownership in Lagos

What information do i require for verification of the land.

Hi Everyone! 2009 was great for so many reasons

because i made people finally realise they have the

power to determine how they buy property before

throwing away their hard earned money. Personally i

feel very very fulfilled that i did my best to help

a lot of Nairalanders search properties and

recommend the ones that are valid and the ones that

have so many hidden problems that by the time you

purchase it, you end up having more headaches than

when you previously didnt buy any land. I was doing

my calculation yesterday and i realised i have

turned down almost N165Million worth of properties

that were advertised to be sold to intending

purchasers that had so many hidden scruples that

the agents and omoniles wont tell you till you

commit your money and then its from frying pan to

fire. Smiley

For the avoidance of doubt for First Time

Property/Land Buyers or New Nairaland Property

Viewers and Readers who dont know what a property

search is, it means before you buy any land or

property whatso ever in any form or shape where

ever, you have to know the validity of it.

Lagos in particular is so notorious when it comes

to sale of property or land that have so many

fraudulent defects surrounding that land/ property

that you wont even know what has hit you. These set

of people are known as the Omoniles, land grabbers

or land touts.

Omoniles naturally should mean owners of the

original land which includes the original family

that truthfully inherited the property from their

fore fathers that has passed down to them. But the

real problem comes when there are so many members

of the family that are divided in terms of claiming

ownership of the lands and how the land truthfully

devolved to them. Before you know it, a property

that is meant to be shared by a family of 3 to

claim ownership is now being contested by the

brother in law, the aunty, the great grand uncle

relatives etc and thats when they begin to employ

touts going around to masquerade as the original

owners with the right to sell and after you fall

victim of their sweet tongues and coercion, you

realise that you bought from the wrong family or

the wrong set of people who have no right to sell

the land to you and you would be confronted by the

original owners when you have started building

half way and forced to cough out another payment to

the real owners or be thrown out of the land. Trust

me this scourge is very very real and 65% of lands

in lagos have this problem one way or the other.

The other way your being decieved is by telling you

the genuiness of the property comes from a set of

documents. Those set of documents include either a

survey plan, a deed of assignment, a certificate of

occupancy, government allocation letter, government

gazette or governors consent.

They will show you all manners of papers to make

you believe them instantly and start pointing to

different houses around there that has been built

by one commissioner or one Minister or one big man

and that their houses are still standing without

any government wahala. What they want you to do is

to instantly believe them and pay money to them

immediately. One thing you can be rest assured is

that, once you pay money to an Omonile, you will

never ever ever get a refund of that money. Its

gone and in some cases its in your front they will

start sharing the money.

Dont ever ever fall for that trick. Always demand

for what ever documents they have. I will point out

the importance of each document to know the rele

1. Survey Plan:

This to me is the most important document From the

start you must ask for from the omonile, agent or

family that intends to sell the land/property to

you. This survey plan is what i would carry to the

Land Bureau to go and do a geographical search on

first. No matter how cheap or beautiful or

strategically located a land or property is, once

that property has been discovered to be designated

for Government use in future, there is no point

going any futher to purchase it. It will be a very

foolish risk to attempt to defile the government

and say nothing would happen, at least there are so

many houses around or so many people have bought

their own and nothing has happened.

Well for those who are conversant with Uncle

Fashola's no nonsense approach in maintaining the

master plan of Lagos, once your property is within

that area that has being designated for Future

Government use, no matter how long maybe its in the

year 2023, the plan must be carried out accordingly

and your property will go down without any form of

compensation because you failed to do the right

thing by throwing caution to the wind. Examples

include the 8 Lane Dual Carriage Way in Badagry

that all the houses that were on that land were

demolished, All the houses in Alimosho local

Government that were near pipe lines, The ones in

Idiroko, The houses in ijegun etc! In fact remind

me of the ones you know.

Also in Lekki Ajah, its even worse because there

are some areas that have been specially acquired by

the government for over 20 years and its just now

that the government is trying to recover its lands.

These areas is what is known as COMMITTED LANDS.

Once an area has been designated as Committed, it

is the ultimate no go area abeg. Thats where they

committ the area for Road expansion, future

government estates or Government Reserved areas For

Major Developments. As long as that Property is

designated as Committed or under acquistion, it is

only the Government of the day that can revoke it

and anybody buying into those areas are buying at

their own mega risk. Dont for once look at the

houses around there as your guide to mean the

government cannot demolish those houses, you would

be shocked that the owners have 4 or 5 houses and

can do away with that one and poor people like me

and you that have no mouth to fight government will

just be rendered homeless because of our stuborness

to buy at all cost there.

Remember you know where the shoe pinches and how

much you have in your pocket. This is 2010. Plan to

save more money than to throw it away foolishly.

Wink

The other option from Government is that if they

choose not to demolish your house because it is

sited on a committed land, they will end up giving

you the option to come and pay Ratification.

Ratification in this sense means your going to pay

Government the full price and taxes it determines

to be the cost of that place and its non

negotiable. So imagine you bought the land in 2005

for N2Million in a committed area and in 2010, you

now have to pay ratification also known as "Rat" at

the cost of N5Million to the Government. Does that

make any financial sense to you? Imagine all the

fears, rumours, prayers that you would be going

through so that those caterpillars dont come your

way and when they decide not to demolish, they now

ask you to pay Ratification, triple or quadruple

the amount you bought it and remember the Omonile

or Agent you bought it from is no where to be found

and if Found, would not in this life time refund or

assist you in any way.

Finally another advantage of the Survey Search is

that if the land has been designated for

Agricultural Purpose, you would know in advance.

Its is mostly prevalent in Ikorodu, Badagry and

Growing Rural Areas that are just cropping up.

Buying into a place designated for Agric is a major

no-no! Except you Want Your immediate neighbours to

be Cows, Fisheries and probably Obasanjo's Chicken

farmers! Unless it has been designated for

Residential or Mixed Development Avoid it please.

The summary is that the Survey Plan Search saves

you alot of head ache at first before you even move

ahead. And once you meet an Omonile or Agent who is

extremely difficult with you in terms of not

providing the survey plan on demand for search

please my brothers and sisters, walk away quietly.

The signs are already there for you to know your

about to be scammed. A survey plan is a public

document and not a private cheque book, so you

shouldnt be bamboozled by people who tell you that

the owner doesnt want to release it because of

security reasons. Trust me there is no reason. As

long as he is ready to sell, that is the first

thing you get from them to know your status before

proceeding.

2.The Deed of Assignment or Conveyance:

This is the second most important document you need

to do a personal search. A deed of conveyance or

assignment traces the history of how the property

or land has reached the present owner till date. It

relates all the information in respect of the true

owners of the land before it was passed to Mr A and

How MR A sold it to Mr B and How Mr B intend to

sell it to you. With that document, you can trace

in most respect the original families to find out

if there is any dispute as to the ownership of the

land how it has been transfered. It is extremely

important to trace the original source of the land

because its there you know if the land actually has

been duly transfered to the present owner. It is

here you get to know of if there is any family

dispute and some families are still quarreling over

the true ownership of the land. It is there you

tend to get the family names to go and do a

thorough search in court or Alausa to know of any

lingering dispute. Its here you get to know the

hanky panky the present owner intends to play when

he begins to tell you cock and bull stories so that

you pay for the land immediately.

Never fall for this trick. Ask for a copy of the

deed if they have one and hand it over to your

lawyer for a through search on the family. To be

honest this is the most difficult search of them

all and it takes the special grace of God to make

sure you come out unscathered.

Ways the present owner can decieve you includes:

1. Presenting a false person to Assume the identity

of the Original family so as to pretend that he or

she sold it to the family 20 years ago

2. Telling you that the family is non existent

anymore or they have moved away from that vicinity

3. Telling you all the family members have died

4. Coercing you that you dont need to meet the

family because since it has been sold to him, he is

the rightful person to sell to you.

This number 4 is a bloody lie and there is a reason

which i wont mention here why this particular

reason shouldnt stand at all and i can only

disclose that in confidence based on the legality

of it and the possible back door approach that

Alausa frowns upon especially when your perfecting

your papers tomorrow.

Bottom line, the deed of assignment is a major

search instrument to know the how, why and when of

the property you buying and it is very very

stressful. So either be prepared to do all the

walking, CID/FBI investigations or give your

property lawyer on your behalf.

I hope you now know why search is not cheap!!! They

say Good soup na money kill am or Penny Wise pound

foolish. Because once you fail to get the real

identity of the true family owners, your money has

been sunk into the whitest of all elephant projects

you can dream of, so be more vigilant this 2010.

3. Certificate of Occupancy, Government Allocation,

Governors Consent:

These 3 are the dream lands or properties you can

buy from with no stress or wahala what so ever. Any

property that has any of the 3 is a very Good

property to buy and to search them in Alausa is

very easy because the records are there. In most

situations, i will encourage you to look for

properties that have a Global C/O, Private

Certificate of Occupancy, Government Allocation or

Governors Consent. Its so easy to perfect your

papers in Future and your most likely in Most

situations going to get compensated from the

Government in case anything goes wrong if they

attempt to acquire it or query it.

The only problems i have seen is that most

properties or lands with a C/O, Government consent

or Government allocation letter are quite expensive

because of the paper work that has been done

thoroughly by the present seller and it almost

eliminates omonile from the transaction in most

cases. So because the owners know that they have

correct papers, they market and sell their

properties quite high too because they are selling

you gold. But then again you need your lawyer to

help you negotiate favourably to make sure the

property becomes yours.

The second problem is the issue of fake C/Os,

Government Allocation Letters and Governors

Consent. In my experience i have seen more than

enough fake documents and these agents or omoniles

would be so bold enough to dare you to go and check

it in Alausa. They will so brain wash you and brag

about its validity that you might be tempted to

take their word for it but when you decide to go

and search it in Alausa, you will find out that it

doesnt exist and when you go back to challenge

them, you hear new stories and unbelievable song

and dance stories that you would almost want to

puke.

Always demand for the Document to do the search.

Dont listen to their stories. If they go as far as

saying they wont release the C/O or Governors

consent due to security risks, ask them for the

number alone and the rest will be investigated.

Dont compromise and get hoodwinked. Its the way

they get their bread and butter. You fall for the

scam, your on your own.

4. Government Gazette:

This is a document that records and states the

areas the government has willingly given to the

family and community to sell and that the

government will not acquire it for what so ever

reason except it duly notifies the world. The major

characteristics of a gazette on provides 2 things.

1. The Area e.g Ilupeju

2. The coordinates e.g the Beacon Numbers that

separates where the Land given to the family starts

and stops. This is Known as an Excision. That means

in a whole portion of land lets say 10 PLOTS,

Government has excised 4 to the family and has

taken 6 plots for its own use. Those 4 Plots will

now be documented in a book form known as a

Gazette. Its the Coordinates you will get to know

where the 4 plots start and ends. You can never

know with a unclothed Eye!

Now the danger of the Gazette that i have seen in

my experience is that people who see the gazette,

jump up and down and accept it whole line and

sinker and proceed to pay to the family because

that area is listed in the gazette and they believe

that area is free. Thats very wrong and dangerous.

It is only an Alausa Surveyor that can come to that

gazetted area, map out the coordinates and tell you

precisely whether your property falls inside the

gazette or not. I have seen places where people

purchased the lands that are outside the gazetted

excision and still believe they are inside the

gazetted excision coordinates. I have seen lazy

lawyers and surveyors who wont take that time and

patience to verify this one particular issue. I

have seen fake gazettes with fake coordinates and

worst of all i have seen people pay hard earned

cash for those places that are most certainly going

to be demolished.

Never ever play with a Government Gazette. They

know why they documented it for you to see and if

you refuse to follow those rules, you will heavily

dealt with.
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Anyway i have decided to assist people more this

year 2010 and i thank so many people that brought

me back to Nairaland via emails and phone calls

from around the world through words of

encouragement and blessings when i wanted to quit

due to the malicious things some Nairalanders were

saying about me and to repay this gesture as my

gift back to Nairalanders this 2010, i would do the

following for every Nairalander that wants to buy a

property free. Smiley

1. When you intend to get a property, after you

discuss with the agent or family selling, get a

copy of the survey plan to me and i will do the

survey search in Alausa for you free to know

whether you should proceed to stage 2 or to forget

the whole property from the beginning to save you

stress and wahala. Just scan a copy of the survey

plan and send it to me at barrister_matto@yahoo.com

or call me on 07036681104.

Introduce your self and please try and convince me

the reason you need the property search because i

sift through my mails to know who is a time waster,

clown or someone that truely needs assistance.

Leave your number so i can call to tell you the

result and advice you on the next stage which would

include visiting the place physically to ascertain

the coordinates because i have seen situations

where the Survey Plan given is different from the

Coordinates of the Proposed Land for sale. So when

it is time for Stage 2 to carry me out, abeg

prepare my deregulation money for hand o! Grin

(Joking)

This offer is only Open to Lands in Lagos State

Alone and doesnt extend to Mowe/ Ofada/ Ogun state

because of the distance going to Abeokuta back and

forth. Alausa is Easier for me because my Office is

a stone throw in Ikeja so i can hop in 10 times a

day to get my information without crying over it in

terms of the distance and transportation cost.

One more thing please, respect the fact that even

though i am offering a free service, i have the

right to cancel it at anytime if i realise am being

taken for a ride. Property Search is a very very

difficult process and if you think i am lying,

devote a full day to do all the walking around in

Lagos Traffic and meeting all sorts of people

trying to hoodwink you and see if you have the

mental capacity to withstand the shock and value

how much a search would really cost if you did it

alone

So take advantage of me now before i change my

mind! Grin.

If all is clear and you understand it throughly,

then Good luck this 2010 in acquiring your dream

property and may God continue to replenish your

pocket to actualize your dream home and me the

strenght to waka the whole of Lagos on your behalf

so that you would have a Property/ Land Scam - Free

year.

Finally Remember that You are not offending anybody

if you are taking all the necessary steps before

you drop your money for any Property Transaction,

Rather your safeguarding your hard earned Money.

Many Have gotten their fingers burnt for failing to

do what is required in a property purchase. Its not

how long but how well. Do the due diligence step by

step. The property is not running away, rather its

your money that will run away if you dont take

these steps!Those that i have assisted one way or

the other on Nairaland to do a search or acquire

properties will tell you how extremely thorough i

am.

One more thing. If you intend to buy a property in

Addo/ Badore Ajah Estates, please dont waste my

time and your time. 85% of those lands / Estates

there are under government acquistion and are

Committed Areas. Governmnent has Acquired over 300

Hectares of Land in that place and thats

approximately almost 5000 plots.

Anyone who has bought there or is intending to buy

there that falls within that Committed Area is just

wasting his/her time living in fear of demolition

or whatever the government decides to do in that

place. Nobody in those committed Areas will be able

to get their C/O and anyone telling you otherwise

is lying. I will not entertain searches emanating

from those areas anymore. I am tired of going to

the Survey General's office and hearing the same

thing that it is a problematic area. Buyers Beware.

This is the problem of not doing a proper search in

an area before you rush and buy land. Learn from

the mistake of others before you rush and join them

in their own problem. Omonile will forever convince

you that the place is safe but Omonile will never

refund your money after you have been 419ed!

Property Buying is the easiest 419 Nigerians Fall

for daily that never ceases to amaze me. Please be

safe and intelligent before you make your next

purchase. Whether the land is going for N400,000 or

N400Million, protect your money. You didnt steal

it, you worked hard for it, so dont let some people

steal it from you because you failed to look before

you leaped!

Cheers

Can u kindly tell us how to search for deed of assignment or convegance?

Is it through court or alausa.

contact lawyer in the property section

@ switchmax8

Thanks for the info, you have been very informative