In this post we will looking at land ownership documents in Nigeria, types of land titles in Nigeria, excision of land and land rectification.
INTRODUCTION
There are various land documents in Nigeria affecting the transfer of land ownership and legal interest in a property. A prospective buyer of land must be acquainted with appropriate land documents relevant to the property to be purchased. All documents are not mandatory or relevant to a single property, an appropriate document for any proposed property transaction will be determined by the nature or circumstances of the property to be purchased. The importance of Land Titles cannot be overemphasized. People who have taken it for granted have either lost a lot of money or found themselves embroiled in unnecessary litigation. Before you acquire any property, it is pertinent that you ask, know and verify what title comes with the property. It is always best to investigate before you invest. However, even when you have verified what kind of title comes with your acquired property, you also need to know how that title impacts your property Historically, all lands belong to the indigenous families dwelling on such lands but the Land Use Act, enacted in 1978 vested all urban land within a state in the state governor to hold on behalf of the people, and as such the governor is therefore responsible for allocation of land in all urban areas to individuals resident in the state or to organizations for residential, agricultural, commercial, and other purposes.
LAND OWNERSHIP DOCUMENTS IN NIGERIA
There are various land documents to consider when buying or selling land. The applicable document for such a property sale will be determined by the type of the property’s ownership. These documents will establish the legitimacy of the land ownership claim. Below, I will briefly explain some of the relevant documents for land or property transaction in Nigeria.
Land Purchase Receipt: A land purchase receipt is a normal receipt or document reflecting the receipt of payment for a particular property or land. Usually, vendors issue a receipt to the buyer upon the sale of a property. However, the receipt may be obviated where the clause for receipt is contained in the document transferring the land.
Contract Of Sale of Land: The contract of sale of land is used by parties to agree on some terms before the finalization of the transaction. It is relevant when any property is to be purchased by anyone. It is not a registrable instrument and must be preceded with other document transferring title in the applicable property.
Survey Plan: A survey plan is used to show the location and size of landed property. With the descriptions and coordinates on the survey document, it is easier to check or search from the office of the Surveyor-General whether the land is actually under any government acquisition or not.
Deed Of Assignment: Deed of Assignment or Deed of Conveyance is used in sales transactions to permanently transfer a landed property from the seller (also known as assignor) to the buyer (also refers to as assignee). It may be drafted by the assignor and reviewed by the assignee or vice versa.
Certificate of Occupancy (C of O): C of O is usually issued by the state government, indicating that a person owns a parcel of land or property. It is issued to individuals that have held a piece of land before 1979. State governments also give it to the allottees of the government’s land. An Individual who subsequently takes over land by way of sale does not require a new certificate of occupancy but rather a deed of assignment with the governor’s consent.
Deed Of Mortgage: Deed of mortgage is actually used in mortgage transactions to show that land or property has been transferred from the mortgagor (borrower) to the mortgagee (lender). It is a temporary transfer in the sense that the mortgagor shall be entitled to retrieve this property back from the lender when the total loan amount, together with the accrued interest, has been paid.
Deed of Gift: It is a document that proves that land or property has been gifted from one person (Donor) to another (Donee). A deed of gift can be used to transfer interest in a landed property permanently.
Grant of Probate: A grant of probate is a document derived after proving the will of a deceased person through inheritance in the probate registry. The document vests all the assets contained in the will into the executors of the estate, who are now recognized legal owners of the property in law. After the owner of any property has become late, all the property’s documents of such person are no longer valid to transfer any interest in the assets left behind by him or her. The Probate will now be the only recognized legal documents to prove the title to such property.
Letter of Administration: The letter of administration also vests the property left behind by a deceased person into the administrators of a specific estate. It is usually granted to the personal representatives of a deceased person where the deceased left no will before death or where the will has become invalid for any reason.
Assent: Assent is a legal document used to vest an interest in a specific estate into the beneficiaries of an estate or any third-party buyer by the executors or the administrators of the estate. It is always accompanied by a copy of a grant of probate or letter of administration.
Judgement Of Court: The judgment of a court is another essential document which may affect or transfer an interest in a specific property from one person to another. In Nigeria, the legal interests in several properties have been transferred from one person to another through the decisions of various courts. When property ownership has been derived through litigation or any property has been subjected to a lawsuit, it is essential to
examine the full decision of the court in respect of such property by obtaining a copy of the judgement.
TYPES OF LAND TITLES IN NIGERIA
Before the Land Use Act enacted in 1978 properties were hitherto owned and controlled by communal authorities who had powers to assign or rent it out to whom they deemed. By enactment of the decree, all lands (mostly in Urban areas) became owned and controlled by State government on behalf of the people. Below, we’ll be highlighting some different land titles available and how they affect ownership.
Free Or Under Acquisition: A free land is that which the government has not indicated any interest in, while a land is said to be under government acquisition if the government has an interest in the area for the purpose of urban development or industrialization projects.
Global Acquisition or Committed Acquisition: The land under government acquisition can either be global acquisition or committed acquisition. The land with committed acquisition means the government has designated that parcel for a specific project as such those parcels of land can never be released to individuals or organizations for development projects. Acquiring lands that are under committed acquisition will eventually lead to the loss of such investments when government moves to take full possession of such a parcel of land. Whereas a land under global acquisition does not have a specific government purpose yet and as such those parcels of land can be later be free or committed as the case maybe.
There are 2 main processes for making a land under global acquisition to be free such as: Excision and Ratification.
EXCISION OF LAND AND LAND RECTIFICATION.
In land excision, state governments release land to indigenous peoples or settlers following legal protocols and processes. Since the Land Use Act was enacted, land excision has been used as a method for compensating the original landowners. A grantee who excises a piece of land maintains ownership and control of the land within the confines of local laws and regulations. To excise a land means to cut it. This is the process whereby the government releases a parcel of land back to the indigenous owners of such lands for the purpose of developments. When this excised parcel of land is published in government’s official gazette, the land becomes Gazette as title. Excision and Gazette are very good titles for a piece of land; such lands are safe to buy and develop, because a proper title can be processed on the land.
Land Rectification: Land Regularization (also known as Ratification) is carried out when an individual or corporate entity acquires land that belongs to the government. However, not all government lands can be regularized. Any land that will be regularized must not fall within a government committed area and it must confirm to the state’s urban planning regulations. Regularization entails buying the land “properly” from the government. It is an expensive process because after buying the land from the “omonile” (seller) you still have to pay the government for the land again. After regularization, the government releases the land and issues a certificate of occupancy (C of O) to the applicant. In order to avoid buying government land and spending far more money than necessary it is highly recommended that the status of the land is known before purchase. The process of knowing the status of a land is called Charting. Charting is a very important process in land matters and it is carried out by Registered Land Surveyors.
CONCLUTION
Buying real estate in Nigeria is a delicate process that requires the services of an experienced real estate lawyer. The titles of some property documents are so complicated, and a lawyer may be required to conduct due diligence in respect of such property. Furthermore, lawyers are required to prepare and review all the necessary documents. Under Nigerian law, no interest can be transferred in real estate without appropriate documentation.