DOCUMENTS YOU CAN USE TO CLAIM OWNERSHIP OF LAND IN NIGERIA

DOCUMENTS YOU NEED TO HAVE TO CLAIM OWNERSHIP OF LANDS AND LANDED PROPERTIES
One of the most important achievement a man can have in life is to own a house or at least some plots of land before he dies. This is because this kind of investment usually outlives the investor. When you own a plot of land, you have already given your children and their grandchildren after them a place they can build on, or a sort of investment which can generate huge income for them in after you are long gone.
However, considering the growing population of the world, it is quite obvious that not every human being on earth will have to opportunity to own a piece of this vast but inadequate resources.
Consequently, when you happened to be one of those opportune to own a plot of land you need to take good care in ensuring that you do the right thing in order not to be duped of your hard earned money.

Apart from the risk of losing money to land or property deal fraud, another risk is the possibility of disputes arising in the far future concerning the land, which if care is not taken you might lose ownership.

One of the major ways in which you can secure ownership of land and properties is through Genuine and Proper Documentation. These documents are referred to as Title Documents; these are the documents that entitles you to the ownership of the land or property. Most people do not understand the meaning, importance and differences between these documents
These are some of the documents you need in order to claim ownership of Lands and Properties in Nigeria.

CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY (C OF O)
This is a very if not most important Title Document a land owner should have, when it comes to land ownership in Nigeria. It is a legal document indicating that an owner of any land has been granted a statutory right of occupancy by the executive governor of the state where the land is located.

RIGHT OF OCCUPANCY
The Right of Occupancy is Nigeria is derived from section 5 and 6 of the Land Use Decree of 1978 and if granted statutory makes null all existing rights on the land exclusive of the governor. There is a customary right of occupancy granted by the local government solely in rural areas and is the right of a person or community lawfully using land or occupying land in accordance to customary laws, it is granted for agricultural, residential and for other uses. In section 5 of the land use decree, the state government is vested with the right to grant statutory right of occupancy for all purposes in respective of whether it is located in an urban area or not. The statutory grants application is open to any individual or group and has a maximum land use grant limited to 500 hectares for crop farming, livestock grazing with 5,000 hectares and for building materials or quarrying 400 hectares.
However, the transference of a right of occupancy needs the approval of government while the government can withdraw a right of occupancy for various broad reasons including overriding public interest.

A statutory right of occupancy certificate and the land use act has become a controversial debate topic at it relates to property law in Nigeria. A statutory grant has contemporary use mostly for stimulating commercial enterprise but these grants also applies to grants made for oil exploration and pipelines shielding a community's interest in negotiating land use or compensation and voice in oil lease agreements. Also, the right to grant rights of occupancy by the government and the value of these rights in loan applications may become subject to abuse leading to patterns of favoritism in land allocation and further access to financial capital in the Nigerian money market to a class of people closer to the governor or with high net worth. - Nigerian Wikki

DEED OF ASSIGNMENT/CONVEYANCE
The deed of assignment document essentially says that the previous owner has transferred his title on the said property to the new owner for financial benefit (or at a price), which the new owner has paid in full and therefore all his interests (and that of his heirs and assigns) in the aforementioned property ceases from the date the contract was signed.

For example, if a property has a certificate of occupancy from the Lagos state government, it means that the government recognizes the person whose name appears on the title document as the bona fide owner of the said property.

When the title holder sells the property to Mr. XYZ, the real estate attorney prepares a deed of assignment that specifically states the seller has transferred his title to Mr XYZ.
The deed of assignment is usually signed on the date the buyer pays for the property and it is one of the documents required by the state government when the new owner goes to the government to perfect his title.

Note that the deed of assignment document is not the only document indicating transfer of owner.

DEED OF LEASE:
Using Deed of lease became quite usual from the passage of the Land Use Act in 1978 for the sale of property specifically authorities residences in Ikoyi, Surulere, Victoria Island axis of Lagos state during the mid-70s and 80s after the promulgation of the Land Use Act. These lands had been basically federal government lands and high profile lands and it turned into the first foray into the issuance of the certificate of occupancies for the primary time to human beings.

DEED OF SUB-LEASE:
This Title Document is given by a Holder of Certificate of Occupancy who decides to excise a part of the property to a new owner & the new holder goes to perfect (register) it at Lands in the State Registry for effect.

The Deed of Sub-lease is valid for the unexpired period of the certificate of occupancy and is renewable upon the renewal of the C of O (which forms the root document) on terms.

LAND CERTIFICATE
This is a document of title as to the ownership of a piece or large parcel of land issued by a government’s land registry for registered freehold or leasehold lands in Nigeria prior to the promulgation of the Land Use Act of 1978.Land Certificate was usually issued to owners of land and landed properties when the Property Conveyancing Law of 1959 was still in effect.

It refers to the Prima facie evidence of land ownership prior to the promulgation of the Land Use Act which vests on lands in the governor of each state of the federation.
Mortgage is defined as the transfer of interest in land as security for the discharge of a debt or the performance of an obligation subject to redemption.

It refers to a security for loan with an undertaken for repayment and censer upon redemption. The common types of mortgage transactions are; Legal Mortgage and Equitable Mortgage.

Legal mortgage is a type of mortgage which transfers the legal interest one has/owns in land, whether leasehold or freehold in consideration for loan advancement. It is usually created by a deed in accordance with the covenants of the mortgage contract or by use of a statutory form resulting in perfecting of instrument by which it is created.

Equitable mortgage on the other hand is a type of mortgage that transfers merely an equitable interest in land or some other properties to the mortgagee. It refers to an agreement to enter into a mortgage transaction but which is created on the rules of equity. Hence, a mere deposit of title deeds in exchange of a mortgage loan without a written agreement is an equitable mortgage.

SURVEY PLAN:
This is another important title document that helps to reveal the true ownership status in any land and landed properties’ transactions. It also helps to reveal if such land is not under any government acquired or committed lands/area.

In a situation where the land to be purchased by the prospective buyer is just a bare land without any improvement or building on it, it is compulsory for the buyer to carry out a proper scrutiny on the authentication of the land survey plan at the appropriate survey ministry or agency so as to establish the rightful owner of the land and if the land to be purchased does not fall under any known government acquired or committed land.

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