How to Identify a Land you shouldn’t Buy

Planning to Buy Land in Lagos: How to identify a land you shouldn’t buy (else you get chased out!)

Land in Lagos can be classified as either FREE or ACQUIRED. If you plan to buy land in Lagos, land is considered free if the government has not indicated any interest whatsoever in that land.
Such land is safe to buy because the title on the land can be perfected without issues C of O, excision, etc. ( more on that later). In most cases, a land you plan to buy anywhere in Lagos should either have a Gazette, a C of O or a Governor’s consent.
In addition, you should also know that all lands that fall within areas that are designated as ‘urban areas’ are under Government Acquisition until deemed committed or free.

How to identify an acquired or free land in Lagos

There are two types of acquisition:
1. Committed Acquisition
2. Global/General Acquisition

1. Committed Acquisition

A parcel of land is said to be under committed acquisition when the Lagos State Government has indicated an intention to use that land for a specific purpose such as the provision of amenities. Such lands belong to the Lagos state government and can never be available for use by individuals. Therefore, you should never purchase land in Lagos that is under Committed Acquisition.

If you purchase land that is under committed acquisition, it will be impossible for you to perfect your land title and you’ll only be occupying the land until the Government comes to kick you out (and whatever you’ve built on it).

2. Global or General Acquisition

Lands that are under “General Acquisition” or “global acquisition” can later be confirmed ‘free’ or ‘committed’. A land in Lagos under general acquisition can become free by a process called Excision.
“Excision is a process whereby the Government releases a portion of an expanse of land that is not committed”. If a parcel of land that was formerly under acquisition becomes excised; it is then considered free and becomes gazetted.
The Gazette then becomes the title on the land and such land is safe, if you buy the land, a proper title can be processed on the land.

Alternatively, a second case where lands under general acquisition can be released is if you purchase land that was under acquisition without going through an excision is through “ratification” or “regularization”.

In this case, you pay for the land to be ratified or regularized. However, the only conditions, in this case, are that the land in question must not fall within a committed area and that the purpose for which the land was bought does not disrupt the original plan of the state.

Ask for documentation before you buy land in Lagos

Before you buy any land in Lagos, find out about the title (documentation) on the land. The title of the land can be one of these:

Deed of Assignment (Registered or Non-Registered)
Survey (Registered or Non-Registered)
Excision
Gazette
Certificate of Occupancy (C of O): see details for Lagos State C of O
Governor’s Consent

Are you planning to buy land in Lagos to build a house?

Instead of buying land and facing building hurdles, there are houses in Lekki, Ikorodu, Ibeju-Lekki and Festac, which you can pay via a mortgage or in installments.

Moreso, mortgage payments can be spread for 15 years or more (with annual interest). Although, you can take up a basic plan of 2 – 4years interest (no interest at all).