How to Spot and Avoid Land Scams When Buying Property in Lagos
Executive Brief
Lagos is opportunity-rich—and scam-prone. Land fraudsters thrive on haste, ignorance, and informality. Your antidote is procedure: collect the right documents, run official searches, insist on escrow, contract with enforceable protections, and perfect promptly. This guide sets out a counsel-grade playbook to identify red flags, neutralize common fraud tactics, and purchase only when the file is bankable.
Rule: Never pay for “assurances.” Pay only for verified rights.
1) The Lagos Land-Scam Playbook—Know the Tactics
“Mother Title Mirage.” Seller flashes a mother C of O for a large tract but cannot produce a valid derivative title for your exact plot (proper deed + consent path).
“In-Process” Illusion. You’re told consent, allocation, excision, or ratification is coming. Money is demanded now “to fast-track.”
Survey Sleight. Unregistered or uncharted surveys with beacons that do not exist on ground—or coordinates that “change” after questions.
Multi-Seller Trap. Omo-Onile/family factions issue conflicting receipts; different “attorneys” claim authority over the same parcel.
Gatehouse Theatre. Glossy estate gate, uniforms, flyers—no approved layout, no drainage design, no service-charge governance.
Escrow Aversion. Pressure to pay deposits to an agent/personal account; resistance to neutral escrow and conditions precedent.
Document Fog. Pixelated scans, missing pages, name/date mismatches, or refusal to release a full document pack before payment.
Speed & Scarcity Pressure. “Another buyer is waiting,” “discount expires today,” “only two plots left.”
Each tactic is designed to make you act before verifying.
2) Red Flags That End the Conversation
Seller refuses Land Registry or Surveyor-General charting.
Plot offered under a “global title” without plot-level derivation.
Uncharted survey; beacons can’t be located.
Prior transfer in the chain lacks Governor’s Consent with no credible cure plan.
Demands for cash or transfers outside escrow.
Multiple “family attorneys” and no single recognized authority.
Estate cannot show approved layout or audited service-charge statements.
Walk away—or proceed only under a tight exclusivity + escrow framework with a curable plan.
3) Counsel’s Safe-Deal Sequence (Print & Follow)
Step 1: Demand a Full Document Pack before inspection
Root of title: C of O; Governor’s Consent to a prior deed; allocation; gazetted excision; court-vested title.
Chain of title: All deeds linking root to seller, with consents where required.
Survey: Registered plan with beacon list; request soft copy (CAD).
Approvals: Layout/planning/building permits (for developed properties).
Encumbrance hygiene: Land Use Charge, ground rent/estate dues receipts.
Vendor identity/authority: ID; board resolution/CAC report if corporate; valid Power of Attorney if an attorney-in-fact.
Gatekeeping: No pack, no inspection. Scammers hate paper trails.
Step 2: Desktop chain audit
Match names, dates, descriptions across instruments.
Confirm every derivative transfer bears Governor’s Consent (or has a deliverable plan to obtain it before completion).
Flag inconsistencies or missing deeds.
Step 3: Site reconnaissance with your surveyor
Locate beacons physically; check access, encroachments, waterways/ROW/pipeline corridors.
Discreet neighbourhood intelligence on prior sales or disputes.
Step 4: Official searches & charting (non-negotiable)
Lagos Land Registry: proprietor, mortgages/charges, cautions, pending consents.
Office of the Surveyor-General: chart coordinates for acquisition, overlaps, rights-of-way, pipelines, setbacks.
Court registries: lis pendens or orders affecting land/vendor.
CAC: directors/charges and signatory authority (if corporate seller).
Step 5: Offer & Exclusivity—lock the deal while you verify
Issue Heads of Terms: purchase price; deposit into escrow; exclusivity window; documents to be delivered; conditions precedent; long-stop date; dispute forum.
Step 6: Contracting with protections
Contract of Sale with: warranties (good title; no undisclosed encumbrances; planning compliance), CPs, indemnities, escrow mechanics, retention, completion deliverables, termination.
Deed of Assignment: perfection-ready; recitals of root/chain; survey annexed; proper execution/seal.
Step 7: Completion against originals
Sight and inventory original titles/consents/receipts.
Escrow releases funds only when deliverables are verified.
Handover: keys/cards, meter numbers, facility manuals, estate clearances.
Step 8: Post-completion perfection
Stamp Duties → Registration → Governor’s Consent (where derivative).
Update estate manager, insurance, and tax diaries.
Digitized and notarise certified scans; store originals in a fire-safe.
4) Special Risk Zones & How to Handle Them
A. Customary/Family Land (Omo-Onile)
Validate head and principal members’ consent on root instruments.
Use a single recognized signatory group; record minutes/MOU; obtain family indemnities.
Prefer court-sanctioned instruments if factions exist.
B. Excision/Gazette Claims
Obtain certified gazette pages or excision letter showing your coordinates within the released area.
Require a deliverable path to a consented derivative title.
Treat “ratification in process” as risk until completed.
C. Waterfront/Setback Corridors
Heightened scrutiny for coastal setbacks, wetlands, flood lines.
Align with LASPPPA/LASBCA requirements; confirm no encroachment on controlled zones.
D. Off-Plan Estates
Escrow all payments; release only on engineer-verified milestones.
Demand performance bond/parent guarantee.
Require a consent-ready pack at handover.
5) Practical Anti-Fraud Tools
Sample Condition Precedent (illustrative)
“Completion is conditional upon delivery of the original antecedent title (C of O or Gazette + subsequent consented deed) and a duly executed Deed of Assignment eligible for Governor’s Consent, together with a clean Land Registry search and OSG charting confirming no acquisition, overlap, or right-of-way encumbrance.”
Sample Escrow Release Clause
“All monies shall be held in escrow and released only upon Buyer’s Counsel’s written confirmation that all completion deliverables have been received, originals inspected, and CPs satisfied.”
Retention/Holdback
“₦___ (or __%) of the price shall be retained in escrow until issuance of Governor’s Consent (or specified clearance), failing which Buyer may rescind and obtain refund.”
(Tailor every clause to your facts.)
6) Common Buyer Errors (Even Professionals Make Them)
Paying deposits to agents or personal accounts.
Accepting photocopies at completion.
Exchanging contracts on “in-process” titles without CPs/long-stop.
Skipping OSG charting because “the estate is popular.”
Relying on marketing collateral in place of approvals.
Failing to perfect promptly after closing.
7) What a Bankable Lagos File Looks Like (Gold Standard)
Root of title + complete chain, with required consents
Land Registry search: proprietor, no undisclosed encumbrance
OSG charting: no acquisition/overlap/ROW/pipeline/setback issues
Planning/building approvals (developed assets)
Court/CAC searches clean, corporate authority intact
Buyer-protective Contract of Sale (warranties, CPs, escrow, retention)
Perfection-ready Deed of Assignment (survey annexed)
Stamp–Register–Consent diarised, budgeted, and executed
Estate bye-laws; service-charge budget + last audit; no-arrears letters
Insurance bound; meter numbers/service accounts transferred
Notarized digital vault; originals in fire-safe custody
Case Snapshot (Composite: Lekki–Ibeju Corridor)
Pitch: “Gazetted land, instant allocation, last 5 plots, discount ends today.”
Findings: Survey uncharted; gazette page did not cover offered coordinates; two different “attorneys” issued receipts previously.
Action: Issued HoT with escrow + CPs; vendor refused escrow; estate had no approved layout.
Outcome: We walked. Client acquired a consent-clean plot in a planned scheme; perfection concluded without drama.
Conclusion
Lagos property rewards discipline—and punishes shortcuts. If a bank would not lend on the file, you are about to buy, neither should you. Build your acquisition around documents, searches, escrow, enforceable contracts, and perfection. That is how you avoid scams—and sleep well.
Call to Action
If you want a zero-stress, end-to-end purchase—document review, Land Registry & OSG searches, negotiation, escrow, drafting, completion, and perfection—retain us. We execute with the precision of counsel.
