Documents every Nigerian land buyer should check

When you buy land in Nigeria, the paperwork is the property. A beautiful plot with broken documents is a liability, not an asset. These are the core documents and searches worth understanding before you part with money. (On Land and More, several of these are exactly what our verification tiers check for you.)

Certificate of Occupancy (C of O).A Certificate of Occupancy: the document a state government issues to formally grant and recognise your right to hold a piece of land, normally for a 99-year term. The document by which a state government formally grants and recognises your right to hold a piece of land, typically for a long fixed term. It is one of the strongest forms of land title in Nigeria.

Governor’s Consent.The state governor's official approval of a land transfer, required for a sale of titled land to be fully recognised in law. Under Nigerian land law, when titled land changes hands, the state governor’s approval of the transfer is required for the new ownership to be fully recognised. A sale without it can be legally incomplete.

Deed of assignment.The signed contract that transfers ownership of the land from the seller to you: your central proof of purchase. The signed contract that actually transfers ownership from the seller to you. It is your central proof of purchase and should name the parties, describe the land, and be properly executed.

Survey plan.A surveyor-drawn, officially lodged map that pins down a plot's exact size, boundaries and coordinates. A surveyor-drawn, officially lodged map that fixes the plot’s exact size, boundaries and coordinates, so you know precisely what you are buying and can confirm it on the ground.

Encumbrance search.A claim or debt attached to a plot, charges, mortgages or caveats, that can limit what a new owner may do with it. A check for any claim or debt attached to the land, a mortgage, charge or caveat, that could limit what a new owner may do with it.

Lis pendens (pending-litigation search).A search for active litigation, any live court case over the land, so you don't inherit someone else's dispute. A search of the courts for any live lawsuit over the land, so you do not inherit somebody else’s dispute.

Gazette / excision (where relevant).Excision is land the government has formally released back to its host community; the gazette is the official published record that proves it. For land released by the government back to a host community, the excision is the formal release and the gazette is the published official record that proves it.

No single document is the whole story, the protection comes from the documents agreeing with each other, with the survey, and with the physical land. That cross-checking is the core of what verification does.