The Complete Due Diligence Checklist Before You Buy Any Nigerian Property

Why This Checklist Exists: The Deals That Should Never Have Collapsed

I have walked sites in Ibeju-Lekki where the same plot had 3 different sellers, each holding what looked like a legitimate document. I have seen buyers pay 8 million naira for land in the Sagamu-Ore corridor only to discover a government acquisition notice had been gazetted years earlier. These are not horror stories. They are Tuesday mornings in the Nigerian property market.

Due diligence on property in Nigeria is not a formality you hand to a lawyer and forget. It is a systematic, multi-layer investigation that you must understand well enough to supervise. This checklist gives you exactly that.

Use this guide before you pay any commitment fee, sign any agreement, or transfer any money. Not after.

Step 1: Verify the Title Document First, Not Last

The first question is not 'how much?' It is 'what title does this property carry?' Nigeria operates with several layers of land documentation, and not all of them carry equal legal weight.

• Certificate of Occupancy (C of O): The gold standard. Verify with the relevant State Land Registry. For Lagos, this is the Lagos State Land Bureau in Alausa. For Ogun, go to the Ogun State Bureau of Lands in Abeokuta. Do not accept a photocopy as verification.
• Governor's Consent: Required for any subsequent transfer of a titled property. If the seller bought a C of O land but never obtained Governor's Consent, their own title is legally incomplete.
• Deed of Assignment: Common in estate and layout sales. Verify it is registered at the Lands Registry. An unregistered Deed of Assignment is evidence of a transaction, not proof of ownership.
• Gazette/Government Layout Allocation: Found in some Ogun and Oyo State properties. Confirm the layout is approved and not within an acquisition zone.
• Survey Plan: Every legitimate property must have a registered survey plan with coordinates. Collect the plan number and verify it at the Office of the Surveyor General in the relevant state.

If a seller cannot produce at least a verifiable survey plan and a document showing the root of title, stop the conversation there. There is nothing to negotiate until that exists.

Step 2: Search the Title at the Land Registry

A title search is the non-negotiable backbone of any property due diligence in Nigeria. It tells you whether the property has been mortgaged, whether it is under litigation, and whether the person selling it actually has legal standing to do so.

• Engage a licensed property lawyer to conduct a formal search at the State Land Registry. Budget between 50,000 and 150,000 naira for this service depending on the state and property value. This is not where you cut costs.
• The search should return the full history of the title: original allocation, any encumbrances, any registered mortgages, and prior transfers.
• For properties in Lagos, also check with the Lagos State Land Use Charge office to confirm there are no outstanding charges that could become your liability at purchase.
• In Ogun State, particularly around the Sagamu-Ore road corridor where plots currently trade between 1.5 and 4 million naira, government acquisition zones exist from old industrial and agricultural programs. A registry search will surface these.
• Ask your lawyer specifically: 'Is there any adverse entry on this title?' That exact question. Do not accept a verbal assurance.

A clean search result is not the finish line. It is clearance to proceed to the next stage.

Step 3: Physical and Survey Verification on Site

Documents can be fabricated. The land cannot lie, but the boundaries absolutely can. I insist on a physical verification for every site we work on at Asset by Israel, regardless of how clean the paperwork looks.

• Hire an independent licensed surveyor, not the one the seller recommends, to re-survey the land and confirm the coordinates on the survey plan match the physical beacons on the ground.
• Confirm the acreage or plot size matches what is stated in the documents. In several Ikorodu and Badagry corridor sites I have assessed, what was described as a full plot of 648 square metres measured out at 450 to 500 square metres.
• Walk the full perimeter and identify all boundary markers. If beacons are missing or have been moved, treat that as a serious red flag.
• Check for encroachment: structures, fences, or farms belonging to neighbours that cross into the property boundary.
• Confirm physical access. A plot that has no road access has severely limited value and potential legal complications around right-of-way, regardless of what the title says.
• Visit the site at 2 different times: once during daylight and once early morning. You will see flooding patterns, community activity, and infrastructure realities that a single inspection misses.

For agricultural land in the Ogun and Oyo belt, where prices range from 500,000 to 2 million naira per acre depending on road access, the physical inspection often reveals drainage issues, access road status, and proximity to utility lines that completely change the investment math.

Step 4: Investigate the Seller's Legal Standing

In Nigeria, the person presenting themselves as the seller is not always the legal owner. Family land sales are the highest-risk category in this regard, and they account for a significant share of the court cases I have seen buyers dragged into.

• If the property is family-owned, demand a Family Resolution Letter signed by all principal family members or their legal representatives, not just the head of family acting alone.
• Ask for the seller's National ID, international passport, or driver's licence and confirm the name matches exactly what is on the title documents.
• If the seller is acting on behalf of a company, request the Certificate of Incorporation, the Board Resolution authorising the sale, and confirm the company is not under receivership or winding-up proceedings at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) portal.
• If the property is being sold by someone acting under a Power of Attorney, obtain the original POA document, verify it was duly stamped and registered, and confirm it has not expired or been revoked.
• In estate sales where a deceased person owned the property, there must be Letters of Administration or Probate. No exceptions.

I have seen buyers in Ibadan lose properties worth 12 to 18 million naira because they bought from a family member who had no authority to sell. The community returned, the courts upheld the family's claim, and the buyer had no legal recourse that actually delivered the land.

Step 5: Check Government Acquisition, Zoning, and Development Approvals

This is where sophisticated buyers separate themselves from the crowd. A property with a clean title can still be legally unbuildable, or worse, scheduled for government acquisition with compensation that will not cover your purchase price.

• Visit the Town Planning Authority for the relevant local government and confirm the property is not within a road setback, power line easement, pipeline corridor, or waterfront buffer zone.
• Request a zoning confirmation: is the land zoned residential, commercial, mixed-use, or agricultural? Trying to build a block of flats on agricultural-zoned land is a path to demolition notices.
• In Lagos, check with LASG Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development for any acquisition notices covering the axis. The Lekki-Epe corridor, where appreciation has run 200 to 400% over 10 years, still has pockets of acquisition land that continue to trap uninformed buyers.
• For properties near government facilities, army cantonment boundaries, or major infrastructure projects, check for exclusion zones. These are rarely advertised but are enforceable.
• If buying for development, confirm whether building plan approval is obtainable for your intended use. Some layouts have estate covenants that restrict storey buildings or commercial use entirely.

The Nigerian government's right to acquire land under the Land Use Act of 1978 is real and it is exercised. Compensation when it comes, and it often comes slowly, is typically far below market value. Do not buy without checking this.

Step 6: Community, Neighbourhood, and Infrastructure Checks

Documents confirm ownership. But the community confirms reality. Before you finalise any purchase, do the ground-level checks that no lawyer can do for you.

• Speak to at least 3 to 5 residents or market traders near the site. Ask directly: 'Is there any dispute on this land?' Nigerians are often more forthcoming than you expect, especially if you approach respectfully and in the local language where possible.
• Visit the traditional ruler's palace or community development association (CDA) office for the area. Confirm the land is free of communal claims.
• Check the current state of infrastructure: road access quality, distance to the nearest transformer, whether water is reticulated or borehole-dependent, and mobile network strength for the operators you use.
• For investment properties, check comparable rental or resale evidence. Plots in Mowe that sold for 500,000 naira in 2016 now command 4 million naira in 2026. That trajectory exists because infrastructure followed. Confirm whether infrastructure is coming or already here.
• Check flood history with neighbours, not the seller. Lagos mainland plots along the Badagry corridor and parts of Ikorodu can be inundated during heavy rains. If the site floods, the title is worthless in July.

Every naira you spend on proper due diligence on property in Nigeria protects multiples of that amount in the purchase itself. This is not optional groundwork. It is the actual work.

Key takeaways

• Demand the original title document and verify it physically at the relevant State Land Registry before any payment, including commitment fees.
• Commission an independent licensed surveyor to re-survey the land and confirm boundary beacons match the registered survey plan coordinates.
• Instruct your own property lawyer to conduct a formal title search and ask them explicitly: 'Is there any adverse entry on this title?'
• For family land, obtain a signed Family Resolution Letter from all principal members. For company sales, pull the CAC records and board resolution before proceeding.
• Visit the Local Government Town Planning Authority to confirm the property is not within an acquisition zone, road setback, or restricted zoning classification.