BEST EXPLAINED OF LAND TITLES IN NIGERIA | ALL LAND BUYERS IN NIGERIA MUST UNDERSTAND THIS LAND TITLES FIRST.
What You Need to Know About Land Titles?
With my experience in real estate consulting, many people don’t really know that there’s a land title called gazette, excision, global Acquisition, Certificate of Occupancy, Governor’s Consent, Deed of assignment. But today we’ll be discussing only Gazette as land title and later picked from the rest and discuss their importance.
Gazzette is mostly common in urban areas or states. It is so common in Lagos state especially in areas like Lekki and Ibeju lekki axis.
GAZETTE
A Gazette is an Official record book where all special government details are spelt out, detailed and recorded
A gazette will show the communities or villages that have been granted excision and the number of acres or hectares of land that the government has given to them. It is within those excised acres or hectares that the traditional family is entitled to sell its lands to the public and not anything outside those hectares of land given or excised to them.
A Gazette is a very powerful instrument the community owns and can replace a Certificate of Occupancy to grant title to the Villagers. A community owning a gazette can only sell lands to an individual within those lands that have been excised to them and the community or family head of that land has the right to sign your documents for you if you purchase lands within those excised acres or hectares of land.
The gazette will show the networks or towns that have been conceded excision and the number of sections of land or hectares of land that the government had purposely given to the public use or to a customary family.
It is inside those extracted sections of land or hectares that the customary family is qualified to offer its territories to the general population and nothing outside those hectares of land given or extracted to them.
It is within those excised acres or hectares that the traditional family is entitled to sell its lands to the public and not anything outside those hectares of land given or excised to them.
A land with Gazette is a very useful title and can replace a Certificate of Occupancy to the Villagers.
So a community or a family who owns a gazette can only sell lands to an individual within those lands that have been marked excised to them and also the community or family head of that land has the right to sign documents for you if you purchase lands within those excised acres or hectares of land.
👉🏾 So Is a Land With a Gazette Title good to Buy?
Land with a gazette is not a title but land that has been excised is a good title land to buy.
Still, be warned that you have to verify all land documents. I like pointing out to due diligence in all land transactions.
👉🏾 Can the government revoke land with Gazette Title?
Yes, they can revoke but it is not a common trend and this can be to some reasons known to them if they decide to revoke. Maybe it’s for community infrastructure, it all depends on what it is.
Also, note that you will be compensated as long as the land is within the excised land with a genuine land document.
👉🏾 How Can I know If a Land has Gazette?
The ideal approach to know whether a land is Gazetted is to hire a surveyor. A surveyor will chart the area or land and take it to the surveyor general’s office within your state to do land data to affirm whether it falls inside the gazette and explain which specific area it tends to be found.
👉🏾 What is the Different Between Gazette and Excision
Excision really means a segment of land that is lawfully delivered to the natives by the state government.
In this way, such bit of land is legitimately liberated or free from government securing it or free from government acquisition
👉🏾 How do these (Excision & Gazette) relate to the C of O? Or does it mean that when you have either Excision or Gazette you don’t need C of O any longer?
When you have either of these, I mean original ones, you don’t need C of O, if you so wish.
Note that excision does not expire while C of O expires after 99 years. The only advantage C of O has over excision is that it can be used as collateral for getting a loan from the bank.👌🏽🥰
IN CONCLUSION THEREFORE;
A Gazette is a very powerful instrument the community owns and can replace a Certificate of Occupancy to grant title to the Villagers.
A gazette also shows the communities or villages that have been granted Excision and the number of acres or hectares of land that the government has given to them. It is within those excised acres or hectares that the traditional family is entitled to sell its lands to the public and not anything outside those hectares of land given or excised to them.
CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY
A Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) issued by the Lagos State Government officially leases Lagos land to you, the applicant, for 99 yrs. As already indicated above, all lands belong to the Government.
A C of O however is the officially recognized Document for demonstrating Right to a Land.
What happens after 99 years? That question is still subject of debate among experts. Most have adopted a wait-and-see attitude. Others postulate that as the new owner of the land, you the buyer, can renew the certificate of occupancy when it expires. That makes sense, but for now is largely a case of we shall see.
A GOVERNOR’S CONSENT can only be processed on a land with either Gazette or an Existing Certificate of Occupancy (C of O).
If a person with land with C of O decides to sell his land, the only documents that can give the new buyer or every other subsequent buyers the right of occupancy or ownership is a governor’s consent.
The powers of the Governor to consent to such transactions can be found in Section 22 of the Land Use Act of 1978 which states thus:
*‘It shall not be lawful for the holder of a statutory right of occupancy granted by the governor to alienate his right of occupancy or any part thereof by assignment, mortgage, transfer of possession, sublease or otherwise howsoever without the consent of the Governor first had and obtained”*
This simply means therefore that even when a buyer has secured a land with a Certificate of Occupancy, he shouldn’t stop there.
He needs to begin the process of obtaining a Governor’s consent to make that purchase legal in the eyes of the government & be rest assured his land is safe.
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We care beyond Real Estate❤️❤️❤️
Anne Nwakama Realtor
