Please I need lawyer in the house to advise me on what to do. I bought this land in Nigeria from Mr X. All the document that was presented to me about the land bears Mr Y. Mr X signed for Mr Y and parted away with my 5m. Can I have Mr X swear a court affidavit

Ank:
Please I need lawyer in the house to advise me on what to do. I bought this land in Nigeria from Mr X. All the document that was presented to me about the land bears Mr Y. Mr X signed for Mr Y and parted away with my 5m. Can I have Mr X swear a court affidavit

An affidavit cannot cure defect in transfer of Title to land. It's like using permanent marker to paint your car instead of oven baking.

Be more explicit, nothing like X and Y here.
The person who collected 5M from you gave you documents belonging to someone else?
Did you undertake due diligence before paying?

If that's the case, let's even establish if it is fraudulent and the extent of fraud involved. What documents were given to you? Did you see the original owner?

Ank:
Please I need lawyer in the house to advise me on what to do. I bought this land in Nigeria from Mr X. All the document that was presented to me about the land bears Mr Y. Mr X signed for Mr Y and parted away with my 5m. Can I have Mr X swear a court affidavit

When it comes to land in Nigeria n virtually everywhere it's caveat emptor. If in the transaction with Mr. X he did not defraud you, you can actually sue Mr. Y for specific performance even though he is not directly a party to the contract. This is an exception to who can sue on a contract as it is called AGENCY under Privity of Contract. However, to sue for specific performance there must be a valid contract summed up as mutuality of purpose and intension (consensus ad idem) as well stated by the Supreme Court in the case of Lagos State Development and Property Corporation Anor v Nigeria Land and Sea Food Ltd so in order to sue Mr. Y there must be a valid contract with Mr. X and Mr. X must be an agent of Mr. Y and to do this it brings us back to the question the person who made a comment above asked and that is:
Did you exercise due diligence when transacting with Mr. X to authenticate the purported document of Mr. Y? In addition I will ask did you confirm that truly Mr. X is an agent of Mr. Y? Before parting away with 5M answering this questions will give an headstart the nature of advice you will get and I know it's a public forum but try and be bit more explicit so one can know the actual state of things at as now as you haven't stated that, even though one can deduce from demeanour but we no magician in that no one can't actually deduce all of the nature of your transaction.


An aside did you consult a lawyer during the transaction for his expertise? I doubt you did though, i just want to appeal to the house always consult a lawyer you might feel it expensive and perhaps formal but it saves one a whole lot of stress.

What were the VERIFIED documents he showed to you to prove that he has the authority to sell a land belonging to someone else? Why would you go into a real estate transaction without contacting a genuine real estate practitioner?

Thank u guys for all your inputs. Let me try and explain further and I am only finding out these after the transaction was done and money paid. Mr X knew the Governor and he previously gave him land allocations. He used Mr Y's name to get another allocation which he sold to me. So all the documents with the city and land survey beared Mr Y's name. When my lawyer did the search he came back that the land is legit and it belongs to Mr Y. When he prepared the Deed of assignment it was also under Mr Y's name. Mr X signed the document as Mr Y. It was later that I found out that Mr X is not really Mr Y but impersonating him. My fear is tha if Mr X dies now, Mr Y can come back and start claiming the land. Even now he can sell the land to someone else because everything is on his. Even the Cof O that I had paid for will also come out under Mr Y's name. It is a complete mess. My laywer advised that I should not report Mr X to the police because if I do, Mr X will just walk out of the case and nothing will happen. I just have to cooperate with him...but how. My money is at stake...I keep reminding my lawyer.

Felloow nairaland, I need something from Mr X or Mr Y or both that will mitigate against all these exposures expressed above. It could be affidavit, I dont know what to call it. But I need something to protect me and my money if anything happens to Mr X. Please advise...

@op i feel that your lawyer is the best position to advice you on what to do but i must say you have bring police because involved money i think mr x has make undertaking to you because of tommorow you dont what may happening thanks

Ank:
Felloow nairaland, I need something from Mr X or Mr Y or both that will mitigate against all these exposures expressed above. It could be affidavit, I dont know what to call it. But I need something to protect me and my money if anything happens to Mr X. Please advise...

How would your lawyer say you shouldn't report to the police when you're a victim of impersonation and fraud?
Well, I don't want to dwell on the consequences, you're here for treatment, not diagnosis.

There's a way out though. Get an experienced property lawyer (not just any random lawyer) to prepare what is called a Deed of Indemnity. If properly drafted, there are certain special clauses that can be inserted to protect you to an extent.

More importantly, there is no way to escape from this knot without the consent of Mr. Y.
Who approaches him and how he is approached matters in solving it finally.

You can send me a PM or reach me on O8O6379O773 for more assistance.