C of O Land And Estates in Nigeria: Risks, Importance And Hidden Dangers

I’m sure you’ve heard of C of O, especially when you’re buying one of these estates in Lagos, Ogun and Abuja, so what’s C of O?
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People here in Nigeria are scared of buying land especially when it doesn’t have C of O, we tend to believe that means the property is not genuine or a scam.
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So, what’s the role of the C of O when you want to buy a land?, regardless of estate land or bare land, the C of O as a document is just a proof of ownership and to show that the sellers are genuine owners of that property you are about to buy.

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Why is the C of O that important in Nigeria?

A lot of us here in Nigeria don’t even know the usage, but with past experience of Nigeria government demolishing and acquiring properties without C of O, so everyone want an estate with C of O, especially in places of huge government presence like Ikeja, Ibeju-Lekki, Lekki, Maitama, Ikoyi, GRA etc.

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But does the C of O means your property here in Nigeria cannot be acquired by the government?, you need to watch the video to find out.

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But, are there dangers of buying a property with C of O?

Yes!, sadly there are some risks that comes with C of O properties, especially buying from real estate companies in Nigeria, some of these risks are:

# You’re linked to the company that was issues the C of O, even when you’ve bought the property or land from them

# Any action on the C of O in case of revocation or fake, your property would also be affected, e.g. the Ogun state government at one time revoked all C of O issued by previous government

Are there ways to avoid some of these risks?

Fortunately, when you buy a land with C of O in Nigeria, you can unlink yourself from the previous owners by applying for a Governor’s Consent, more is explained in the video.

In addition, you can go for alternative registered land documents that are equally recognized in Nigeria like Gazette and Excision.

So, what’s our advice on popular C of O estates that are everywhere in Nigeria, especially in Lagos, border towns Mowe, Atan, Magboro, Simawa etc

Be careful, only buy from reputable companies and to be safe, after buying the land or property in the estate, go to the Ministry of Lands of the state you bought and get your Governor’s Consent.

If you want us to shed more light on this, drop a comment here or reach us on whatsapp +2348028617830.

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