How to buy land in Nigeria: your first purchase, step by step

Buying land in Nigeria for the first time feels like learning a new language. Survey plan. Charting. Excision. Gazette. C of O. Governor's consent. Everyone around you is nodding like they understand, and the seller is saying 'the papers are complete'. This guide walks you through how to buy land in Nigeria step by step, in the order things should actually happen.

One quick note. Every state runs its own lands system, so names of offices and timelines differ. Lagos has its Land Bureau and Surveyor-General's office. Abuja uses AGIS under the FCT administration. The logic below works everywhere. The forms change.

Step one: see the land, then see the survey plan

Visit the land yourself, or send someone you trust who is not linked to the seller. Walk the boundaries. Look for beacons, the small concrete pillars with numbers that mark the corners. Ask neighbours who owns the land and if there has been any trouble on it.

Then ask for the survey plan. A survey plan is a drawing by a registered surveyor that shows the exact shape, size and coordinates of the land, plus the beacon numbers. It does not prove ownership. It proves what piece of earth everyone is talking about. Check that the beacon numbers on the paper match the ones on the ground.

Step two: charting, the check most people skip

Take a copy of the survey plan to the state's Surveyor-General's office and ask for the land to be charted. Charting places the coordinates on the official government map. It tells you if the land is free, under government acquisition, committed to a public project, or sitting on a road or drainage path.

This is the step that saves people from building on land the government already owns. It costs far less than a demolition. No be small thing.

Step three: excision and gazette, mostly a Lagos and Ogun matter

In Lagos especially, the government acquired large areas of land many years ago. Later, it released parts of that land back to the original communities. That release is called excision, and it is published in the official state gazette, which lists the village and the size of land released.

If you are buying from a family or community, ask which gazette covers the land, then confirm that your plot falls inside the excised area and not outside it. A family can only sell what was excised to them. If the charting shows the land is still under acquisition, it is not theirs to sell, no matter how many elders sign.

Step four: understand the title. C of O and Governor's consent

Under the Land Use Act of 1978, land in each state is held by the governor in trust for the people. A Certificate of Occupancy, the famous C of O, is the government's grant of the right to occupy and use a piece of land for a long term. In Abuja, the equivalent comes from the FCT Minister.

When land that already has a C of O changes hands, the transfer needs the governor's consent, called Governor's consent. Without it, your purchase is not perfected in the eyes of the state. Many estates also sell under a global C of O, which covers the whole estate. In that case you buy your plot through a deed of assignment and then apply for consent or your own title later.

Land with only a survey plan, a family receipt or a deed of assignment can still be a fine purchase, but you are buying more work and more risk. Price that in.

Step five: the search, the lawyer and the paperwork

Hire your own property lawyer, not the seller's. Your lawyer runs a search at the state land registry to confirm who holds the title, whether the land is mortgaged, and whether there are other claims. Your lawyer then drafts the deed of assignment or contract of sale, and handles the consent and registration process after you pay.

When you pay, pay into an account whose name matches the title holder, the family's documented representative or the company named on the title. Never pay a 'cousin of the seller' because he is the one picking calls. Collect a receipt in the seller's full name, with the land described clearly.

Step six: take possession and protect it

After payment, take physical possession quickly. Fence the land if you can, or at least put up a signboard with your name. Keep a copy of every document somewhere safe, and keep the originals somewhere safer. Then follow up on the consent and registration, because a deed sitting in your drawer is only half the job.

Land is the slowest thing you will ever buy, and that is fine. Slow and verified beats fast and painful. When you start your search, you can browse land on Xavorian, where every seller's ID, bank account name and documents are checked before the listing goes live.