When you buy land in Nigeria, you are not really buying soil. You are buying a paper trail that says you may occupy that soil, and that the person selling it had the right to pass it on.
The Land Use Act of 1978 vests land in each state governor, who holds it in trust. What a seller can transfer is a right of occupancy, not freehold in the old sense. That is why a receipt and a handshake are never enough, and why the same plot can look clean on WhatsApp and messy at the land registry.
This is a practical map of the documents that matter, in the order a careful buyer usually meets them. It is not legal advice. Land practice differs by state. Lagos is not Enugu, and Enugu is not Abuja, so take the file to a property lawyer and a licensed surveyor before money moves.
1. Survey plan
A survey plan is the drawing that says where the land is, how large it is, and which beacons mark the corners. It is prepared by a licensed surveyor and given a unique identification. Without it, every other document is describing a place you cannot point to.
Before you pay, ask a licensed surveyor to take the plan to the Surveyor-General’s office and to walk the beacons on the ground. You want two answers: that the coordinates match the plot you were shown, and that the land is not inside a government-acquisition or committed area.
A plan that exists only as a photo on a phone, or that belongs to the plot next door, is one of the most expensive mistakes in this market.
2. Right of Occupancy
Under the Land Use Act, nobody owns land outright. What you hold is a right of occupancy: the right to use and occupy a specific plot, usually for a term of years. That is the interest a seller can pass to you.
There are two kinds, and they are not interchangeable.
- Statutory Right of Occupancy. Granted by the state governor, usually for land in an urban area. The Certificate of Occupancy is the paper that typically proves this right. In some states you will also see an offer or grant of a statutory right of occupancy that has not yet been perfected into a C of O. That is a step in the process, not the finish line.
- Customary Right of Occupancy. Granted by the local government over land in a non-urban area. The paperwork looks different, and so does the office that issued it. Your lawyer should confirm which kind you are being offered and which office can confirm it.
3. Root of title
This is the document that explains how the seller came to have that right of occupancy. You are looking for a chain you can follow, not a single impressive stamp.
- Certificate of Occupancy (C of O). Issued by the state, usually for 99 years. It is evidence of a statutory right of occupancy, and it is the strongest common root of title, but it is not a magic shield. Confirm it at the land registry. Forged C of Os are not rare.
- Excision and gazette. Common on land that started as family or community land, especially in Lagos. An excision says the government released that parcel. The gazette is the public record. Ask whether the particular plot falls inside the excised area, not merely near it.
- Customary or family allocation. Still widespread. The paper from one family member is not enough. You want the family head and the principal members on the transaction, and a lawyer who knows how that family has sold land before.
4. Deed of Assignment
The deed of assignment (called a deed of conveyance in some states) is the instrument that transfers the seller’s interest to you. It should name both parties, describe the land by reference to the survey plan, state the price, and be signed and witnessed.
A deed is necessary. It is not enough on its own. Under the Land Use Act, an assignment of a statutory right of occupancy is void without the governor’s consent. Buyers who stop at a signed deed and say “the land has C of O, we are done” are the ones who later cannot mortgage, resell, or defend the plot.
5. Governor’s consent
Section 22 of the Land Use Act requires the governor’s consent before a holder of a statutory right of occupancy can assign it. The application goes to the state lands bureau with the executed deed, a certified true copy of the root title, the survey plan, tax clearance for both sides, identification, and evidence that ground rent or land-use charge is current.
Consent is what makes the transfer effective against the world. Registration at the land registry is what puts third parties on notice. Budget time and money for both. They are part of the purchase, not an optional extra.
6. Land registry search
Before you fall in love with the plot, have a lawyer search the relevant land registry. The search is how you find out whether the title is already mortgaged, caveated, or claimed by someone else, or whether the C of O you were shown is even on file.
Do this on the original or a certified copy, not on a screenshot. If the seller resists a search, walk away.
Other papers that travel with the file
These do not replace title. They are what offices and counterparties will ask for when you perfect it:
- Contract of sale and payment receipts that state exactly what you paid for
- Tax clearance certificates for buyer and seller, required for consent in most states
- Valid identification and passport photographs of both parties
- Evidence of ground rent or land-use charge, if the title attracts it
- A power of attorney if you are buying from abroad or through a representative. Have a lawyer draft it. Do not copy one from a group chat.
A working order
Collect copies of the survey and the root of title. Verify the survey. Search the registry. Only then sign a deed and release the bulk of the money, on terms your lawyer is happy with. Then apply for consent and register.
If a listing on Ilé is for a plot or an estate unit, use the contact button to ask the agency which of these documents sit on that land, then take the answers to your own lawyer. We review listings before they go live. We do not replace a title search.
Questions about a specific listing, or about how buying on Ilé works, can go to help@theileapp.com.