₦airaland Forum

1. THE LAND UNDER ACQUISITION FOR A SPECIAL DEDICATED PURPOSE SCAM:

This Scam is very rampant especially in Rural Lagos such as in areas like Alimosho, Epe, Egbe, Ikotun, Ifako, Alakukuo, Iba, Iyana paja, Ikorodu, Igbogbo, Ayobo, Badagry and some areas in Ibeju Lekki etc.

The simple gist about this kind of Land Scam is that the Government based on different regimes past have ear marked some projects in some of these areas that they intend to execute in future. For example proposed bridges, schools, government housing schemes, museums, pottery villages, cemeteries or buildings of national or state importance and have allocated hectares of land for this huge projects from these communities. At times the government uses its power to take these lands off these communities based on certain reasons best known to them but in almost all situations they compensate the community they took these lands from and warn them to stay clear off these lands.

Well we all know the way thing work in Nigeria. The government might acquire these hectares of Land but information about the location of the land might be very sketchy and they might not even fence it. But being a Government land it has been recorded in their system and whenever a new administration decides its time to look into that project as a priority they now go and acquire their lands but one thing the Government always does is to put various sign boards around warning people that the land has been acquired by the government and trespassers should beware of the land.

But this is what these Land Scammers would do next:

1. They will monitor for months the frequency of government officials that come around to view the lands if they are still secure and wait till the vists become less regular.

2. They will now send their boys to go and remove the signboards at night one by one so that you won’t know where the government land starts or ends.

3. They begin to parade and patrol these areas as owners of the land and claim it belongs to their community

4. You are desperate for a land and you don’t do due diligence or call a lawyer versed in land search to carry out a thorough investigation and you end up paying for the land.

5. You will enter 1 chance because the land wasn’t theirs in the first place, you can’t build on it, you can’t recover your money because they are rouges and finally your house will be demolished compulsorily because you had no right to be there in the first place because that government school has been zoned to be on that land by fire or by force.

TRUE STORY:

A Woman called me last year to help her do a search for her after she read some of my blogs on Nairaland. Funny enough her husband was already quarreling with her for delaying the payment for a land an omoonile took them to view a land around Igando side to buy and that the land was a virgin land and they has been no dispute on the land either legally or personal. After discussing the price, they said they should go and pay the money to the Baale since the land belongs to him and the Omoonile stated that no other person has been on the land apart from the Baale’s descendants. She was very curious because they just kept pointing to the land from afar without giving them a full tour of the land but they kept on haranguing her pay quickly because other people were also interested in the land.

When she later called me, I asked her if a surveyor has gone to take the coordinates of the land to chart it, she said no because she didn’t have any surveyor and contracted me to go and do the search. I called the Omoonile and pretended I was the brother of the woman who was actually the one who was to pay on her behalf and I was carrying N3Million cash to pay them. The Baale said he will personally meet me to collect the money. He was dressed in his full Baale Regalia when I got to his palace and with his other chiefs ready to divide N3Million. I told them I wanted to see the land personally and they told me since ‘my sister has already seen it there was no point again’ I told them no that I want to take pictures for my architect and the reluctantly agreed. On getting to the site I was advised not to walk into the bush because of snakes but after I pay they will cut the grass properly for me to see my land. I told them ok and told my other colleague to write them a cheque and discuss money matters with the. That check matter distracted them while I ventured into the land to look around to try and see if I could see any beacon number or foundation on the land to query them. I saw something better. A Big sign showing the proposed NYSC Permanent site and buyers should beware buried deep in to the ground. Can you imagine?

On further investigation I found out that there is presently a court battle between some community members and the lagos state government over that NYSC camp site. That’s how I shouted and started querying them that they are about to sell us a whole NYSC Camp land and some of them started speaking gibberish. Some just decided to walk away since they knew game was up, while one brandishing a matchet was just screaming that the land is theirs and government cannot take it from them blah blah. I now asked them why they didn’t tell us they were about to sell us NYSC camp land and he said its not his business to educate a buyer on the land to buy because that should be their lawyers job and that their own is to sell any land to collect their money till they tell them otherwise and if I don’t buy, another person that isn’t sharp or smart will buy and that’s how they bullied me to get out of that place.

QUICK TIP TO AVOID THIS SCENARIO:

1. If you’re going to visit a land for the first time before you call in the professionals such as me or a surveyor, make sure you walk through the whole land and check the 4 corners of the land to see if there is any beacon number or foundation or any object on it. Study the land well to see if any object has been removed. If your not sure, continue to ask the seller repeatedly why that land is vacant and what is prompting them to sell. 7 out of 10 times, if you continue to ask that question, you will get the same response but a fraudulent one will continue to change his story or add new hidden details that is worth checking out before you commit that money.

Bottomline Shine your eye well well before you go and throw away your money to buy Government Land. Fashola no go pity you o!

Following these Nairaland Property Articles https://www.nairaland.com/859159/2011-land-property-scams-swindles and https://www.nairaland.com/595696/land-fraudsters-tricks-learnt-2010 , I have received some threatening phone calls and emails from a lot of unscrupulous Agents, Omooniles and even some Property developers in Lekki and Mowe/Ofada Axis accusing me of interfering into their property sales and discouraging new buyers from buying their defective and problematic lands filled with all sorts of issues.

These crooked Swindling fraudulent Land Sharks cheat people daily and sow the seed of suspicion in the minds of future Land buyers and are continuously hovering and revolving around the property market, looking for big spending Victims to take advantage of. As long as you have money to invest, whether it is N200,000 for a plot of Land or N20Million your spending, there is someone out there trying to trick you out of it. These are criminally minded people who actually don’t know Jack about the business process of the Real Estate industry but they use fraudulent lands as source to extract money from victims.

With this in mind I am starting this very important thread to teach people about some of the types of Land Scams I have encountered in the last 5 years based on the deluge of requests for property/ Land searches I have been receiving daily from potential buyers who know people that have been hustled or scammed badly with respect to Lands or properties they tried to buy in Lagos. Most of them walked unknowing into these Land Transactions innocently without any form of suspicion that they were about to be hustled, deceived or scammed and I also encourage other people to write their own land scam stories to educate people too to avoid these scenarios in future and I will continue to update this thread with any new scam I encounter.

omosexy1: Where is he? I hear the guy gets paid to tweet, am I correct? Gosh, if this is true then I believe he must be high on something.

Yes! He is so arrogant now that he believes he has the crowd! Someone was telling me the other day that he charges like N10,000 to mention your business via twitter!

He is not even in power and he is collecting kickbacks for doing something charitable. The same people who follow him are the ones he is collecting tithes from to do pay per twit!

Can't wait for his revolution! Lol he is already giving us signs what his own definition of a revolution should be. Actually I care bout him but I feel sorry for his followers who are still so blind to see beyond his motives. Once he has used them thoroughly he will just abandon them to heir fate

Coming from a guy who abused Arik to infinity as thieves because of an ipad he negligently misplaced on an Arik flight and after 3 months + of wailing and throwing his toys out of the pram by rentlessly insulting Arik, the same Arik called him aside, gave him a new ipad and he kept quiet. He is even going as far as praising Arik! Lol If Romney was accused as a Flip Flopper, then Omojuwa should be Romney's dad in flip flopping. He is the biggest hypocrite on the planet.

Today he is talking about a revolution and thrashing GEJ to shreds but once they call him aside, give him a house, car and make him a special adviser on twitter matters, story will change. He is just an attention seeker and I stopped following him after the Arik hypocrisy. I feel sorry for his followers on twitter because he is just using them to achieve his selfish motive. He isn't an activist and shouldn't pretend to be one. Activism isn't about making noise and shaking the enemy's hands at the back, its about real change in leadership. Omojuwa is in it for material things especially if CPC does well. He doesn't care about you. He used his followers to get a new ipad and 3/4 of his followers am sure dont have one! So what did they gain joining him to abuse Arik? If he wants a revolution, he should start it and be at the front line and we would follow him. Shebi that's what activism is all about? Gani, oshimole, Falana, frank Kokori, Fasheun, Mko etc led the front line and we followed them, oya omojuwa, carry the gun and shoot first and we would follow you, rather than you leading a revolution from your bedroom via twitter.

lawyer: What of if a man continuously beats his wife or his wife is verbally abusive to the extent of making him insane, they shouldn't divorce abi because the bible didn't say so?

charlsecy4: They can divorce, but shouldn't remarry to other persons. The only option is reconciliation.



Common wisdom should tell you that a marriage entered into using, say, deceit, force, is not ordained by GOD. Can you marry your blood relation, say, your sibling?



You have said what you, yourself, know is not true!





Please, quickly read Matthew 5:31-32.

What a load of tripe! Where is it written in the bible that they shouldn't remarry again if a woman is verbally abuses and they divorce? That's how you guys twist the bible to interprete it in your own daft ways and unsuspecting readers will be totally brainwashed due to your views? So it's permissible for a man to beat his wife senselessly for years and to divorce but not marry another person? Until they reconcile? People should be weary of you! If you end up being a pastor I fear what your followers will turn to and do? You have no fact either biblical or legally to support your claims and its best people ignore you because your nothing but a wind up muppet trying to propagate false teachings

What of if a man continuously beats his wife or his wife is verbally abusive to the extent of making him insane, they shouldn't divorce abi because the bible didn't say so? And they are both Christians? The real world takes precedent nowadays and human behavior is evolving that repels people and biblical laws didn't foresee most of these modern day immorality or sins, that's why the State law on separation or divorce should take precedent over biblical laws today.

For example, what if the man is a serial child molester or pedophile? Must she stay with such a man because the bible didn't state that's a reason? What if she is a gold digger and out to ruin her husband based on her selfishness, should the man still stay with her when its obvious she is out to destroy him?

Does Fani know that when Americans refer to you as a FANNY, it means a Cu***nt and that's exactly what Fani or Fanny is with this drivel and dross he has written about Obama! What a FANNY

okine4real: @lawyer. thanks for the answer. but i guess you have already answered that part you answered now. but what i wanted to know is. if your client and the other person has the same Document, but the other person has gotten a valid C of O, whom then owns the land. also putting into consideration, On both deed of Assignment when looking at the date of purchase, it shows your client bought the said land first, but your clients dont have a C of O. he just has survey. whom owns the property. let me put it these way.

lawyer bought land 30th june 2012
DOCUMENT OWN receipt,survey, deed of assigment, bank draft, pictures


the other client bought the land 12th december, 2012
DOCUMENT OWN- receipt,survey, deed of assigment, C of O bank draft, pictures.

When was the property first bought by the original first buyer and whats the date on the new CO? That will solve so many things

Whom then owns the land.

okine4real: Please lawyer this goes to you. what happen if the other person that bought the same land had the same document as yours? i mean what if the other guy hard a smart lawyer whom always made the sellers sign the deed of assignment, had pictures of the transaction, and his survey plan indicates is land properly. so in this case, it makes the both of you even. but on the deed of assignment, is shows that you bought the land first than the other guy. And also what if the other client had gone further to have gotten a C of O for the said plot. How do you tackle these case, knowing fully well that your own client dont have a C of O?

QUESTION 2: OK WHAT IF THE OTHER PARTY CLAIMING OWNERSHIP OF THE LAND ALSO HAS ALL THE SAME DOCUMENTS I ALSO HAVE? WHO THEN OWNS THE LAND?

The Answer is here :


ANSWER: The Position of the Law is that WHEN THERE ARE 2 CONTENDING PARTIES IN THE DISPUTE DERIVED FROM A COMMON SELLER, THE FIRST IN TIME TAKES PRIORITY. This means the First person on the land who bought his first has the strongest title and the second person must give way to the earlier Purchaser no matter how painful it is for the second buyer. This was stated in The Supreme Court Case between AYANWALE V ODUSAMI IN 2011.

Here the First in time means the first person who first bought the land through all the evidences of the documents he has before the second person bought the land unknowingly. That is why you must do a search properly before you buy any land so that you don’t fall victim of this Rule and be the unfortunate second person on the land.

Omoniles are extremely fond of this whereby they resell the same land to 2 or more people because of their greed or because the land has been left unattended to. Please be careful and be wise here.

thepakmail: PLEASE HELP ME MR LAWYER.
I bought two plots of land in 2011 from MR H. I got all the documents and processed the gorvernor's consent, which was approved and issued to me.
In October 2012 i decided to start building, but Mr F. came from no where to claim ownership of the land. On further investigations I found out that the whole land about 50 plots belong to Mr F. but he claim to have sold only half of it to Mr H. and my half is not on the part he sold to Mr H. But Mr H. is claiming that MR F. sold the whole 50 plots to him. And both Mr F. and Mr H. and refusing to come to the table to sort things out. Please in this situatin what do I do.

@thepakmail

There is no way you can get a governors consent without a previous C/O or gazette and if the survey plan has been properly charted. How did Mr H get his documents that he used to sell to you? It's with that you can properly know where the problem emanates from.

@ Emmaculate thanks!
Cheers

@ All to be honest before I spoil food for all my lawyer friends here, the best solution in Lagos especially that Ajah or mowe/ ofada is usually relocation. They still have many virgin lands to give out. It's only their greed that makes them resell choice lands based on preferred locations to desperate buyers unless the more you struggle with these hungry, good for nothing idiots, the more you lose a quarter of your life span battling with people that are well below your dog in terms of importance and intelligence. You will spends thousands in court, lawyer will chop belle full, case will be adjourned, they will prostrate tire when the heat is getting hotter to forgive them and you will still settle for that relocation.

As per the money! Forget it. They have shared the money immediately amongst their selves. The ones that want to marry new wife has collected his own, the one that want to buy new cow to show himself for Sallah has chopped his own, the one that wants to change roof of his baale palace has bought materials, the ones that need to enter town that night to go to Iya Shade to buy big stout, Nkwobi and Cat fish pepper soup has chopped his own, where do you want to start recovering your money from? Just take the land re allocated to you and move on.

But this rule I repeat must not be followed when Fraud has been established. Once he has stolen your money and he has resold other people's land and has no right to relocate or compensate you, it's a case of fraud for EFCC or Police. Once they charge the person to court just be patient and see how the court works to handle them. It might take a while but your money will come out. The courts have adopted a zero tolerance policy for fraudulent Omonile land sellers these days and God help that Omonile if the judge is a woman.

Cheers

kemola2: hi d law.thanks for your expose.really appreciate it.am about buying a land around ibeju-lekki.kindly send ur e-maila dd or number to me very urgent.

Thanks Kemola2. I appreciate your kind words. My number is 08077943514 and email is nairalandlawyer@ yahoo.com

Cheers

slimtico: I bought a pice of land from Pretoria Atlantic (Diamond estate), Mowe.... i got all the land allocation papers a year later and i was so happy. I got a text some few months later saying that they would need to reallocate (that was 2yrs ago), till today they have not reallocated neither have they returned my money. I have decided to take it up legally and was wondering if i can just ask for the current value of the land as i'm not really interested in the land anymore. I am already frustrated with the quaality of service i've received from the company and will not want to have anything to do with that name. I have informed them that i'm holding on to the allocation papers i received and my lawyer is writing them as we speak.

Well sorry to say Slimtico but many of the land developers in that region dont have the money to refund you. Even if you take them to court, during the Pre trial conference they will push hard for the relocation because it suits them unless if everybody attacks them for a refund they could declare bankrupcy and its going to be difficult for you to either see a land or money

Cheers

[size=16pt]6. QUESTION: [/size][size=14pt]WHAT OTHER ALTERNATIVE IS AVAILABLE OTHER THAN GOING TO COURT OR THE POLICE WHEN THE SELLER HAS DISCOVERED HIS MISTAKE OR HAS NO MONEY TO REFUND BUT HAS OTHER LANDS AND IS READY TO RELOCATE THE SELLER TO COMPENSATE HIM? WHAT SHOULD HE DO IN THIS SITUATION?[/size]

[size=16pt]ANSWER:[/size] The truth here is that RELOCATION is the only way out and this is a very painful choice to take and swallow but in most situations, it is the best situation to escape the anguish, pain, police wahala, court delay, shouting, screaming, complaining, fighting and a host of other knee jerk reactions when it happens.

All the shouting on this planet will will not bring your money back or land back because the Seller has “Chopped” the money and he cannot refund it and the land has been awarded to the other party. So accepting relocation from the original location compared to the you bought seems the best option. Although it is painful to assimilate this option after going through the whole process of buying a land for you to finally accept a relocation, but it’s the best way to resolve the whole wahala because land never devalues and new locations will always spring up to make it attractive for you and you can resell it in future to make a profit. In this situation at least your still holding on to something tangible. What if the Seller dies during the court case, what if he absconds, what if he value of that area he intends to give increases? You have to look at all the positives involved here instead of the negatives so that at least you gain something. This is Lagos. Land transactions are not always smooth. Its filled with a lot of hiccups and issues and its not a perfect scenario. Even i that is so meticulous in the way i do things still encounter new landed issues everyday that throws me off balance and i have to find a way to make it successful. So embrace that option if you are opportuned.

Its my own candid advise that most people that find themselves in this situation should embrace reconciliation and arbitration if the opportunity arises and take the land they intend to relocate you to as long as its legal, free from defect and genuine and if possible the seller should do something extra to try and appease the buyer such as assist with foundation money or blocks or something to help mitigate the whole pain but if you’re the type ready to go to court till you ascertain your right, take that option. Its all a matter of choice.

But this rule does not apply to a fraudulent Seller or Agent who willingly and knowingly sold defective lands he had no capacity to sell from the beginning or someone who knowingly defrauds you by selling a land to 2 or more people. Such a person is a dupe, scammer and fraudster and that’s where the police or EFCC has the right the right to arrest and prosecute on your behalf and if he is not ready to return your money in full, his assets will be sold and he will still serve time for his crimes. Such people do not have the capacity to relocate anybody because they didn’t have anything to sell in the first instance, so they should be dealt with with an iron hand and the authorities must be involved so as to serve as a deterrent to others.

There are many more remedies available when there are Land Disputes but these are the ones I can remember now off hand. You can always consult your Lawyer to give you more tips on how to go about it or get in touch with me privately to assist. Do have a wonderful day ahead of you and we pray to God you and your children’s children should not encounter such Land Wahala in future.

Cheers

[size=16pt]5. QUESTION:[/size] [size=14pt]WHAT HAPPENS NOW THAT THE SELLER HAS GIVEN ME FAKE DOCUMENTS, FAKE RECEIPT, SHOWED ME A WRONG LAND AND HAS NOT RETURNED MY MONEY AFTER MUCH DEMAND FOR IT? WHAT ARE MY REMEDIES HERE?[/size]

[size=14pt]ANSWER:[/size] This is a clear case of Fraud or Obtaining under False Pretext because the Seller had no capacity from the very beginning to sell the land, so you have not title. So the remedy open to you is to report the matter to the Special Fraud Unit of the Police or if the cost of the land is above 5Million, the EFCC will handle the case for you to recover the money for you and or prosecute the fraudulent seller or sellers on your behalf.

To be honest a lot of people are under the delusion that we are still under Military Rule and that when there is a land dispute, Soldiers, Police, Lawyers and para military men should immediately come in, beat everybody up and immediately the land will be restored back to you. This is not true. A land dispute is a civil matter and its only the courts that can resolve the issues at hand. Unfortunately most people don’t like this option because of the incessant court delays but that is the law and that’s the only option open to people who feel that their lands have been trespassed upon.

The police cannot solve a breach of contract or a dispute as to land based on documents discrepancies because its not under their jurisdiction to do so except there is a clear case of fraud or forgery or obtaining money under false pretext. So please know your choices and don’t run afoul of the law. That’s why it is always advisable to make sure you do a proper search from the beginning and get your lawyer to get ALL THE NECESSARY DOCUMENTS in your favour to assist your case as proof of evidence of Ownership.

[size=16pt]4. QUESTION:[/size] [size=14pt]BUT WHEN I SAW THE SURVEY PLAN OF THE OTHER PERSON CLAIMING OWNERSHIP OF THE LAND I FOUND OUT IT IS NOT THE SAME LIKE MY OWN. THE ADJOURNING LAND AND STREET DRAWN ON HIS SURVEY PLAN IS DIFFERENT BUT HE IS CLAIMING THAT MY LAND IS HIS LAND AND THAT IT IS WHERE THE OMONILES TOOK HIM TO, IS THE SAME LAND REFLECTING ON THEIR OWN FAMILY SURVEY PLAN. HOW DO I RESOLVE THIS DUPLICATE SURVEY PLAN WAHALA?[/size]

[size=16pt]ANSWER:[/size] There are 3 Steps here to ascertain True ownership of land with respect to a Survey Dispute:

A. A Survey Plan must be tendered showing all the features of the land and showing clearly the boundaries as properly described.

B. A Competent Registered Surveyor must test and ascertain with certainty that the Survey Plan he is holding is an accurate survey plan and it has been properly lodged in the Surveyor general’s office for the record and matches the one in their record.

C. The identity of the land must be clearly ascertained and it must match what is on the Survey plan and the boundaries must be shown with all certainty.

If your survey plan is not properly drawn and described properly and most especially it isn’t lodged in the surveyor general’s office and the survey plan cannot properly show it is connected with other adjoining lands beside it, then your survey plan cannot help you in swaying the property in your favour.

Read more about fraudulent Surveyors and Survey plans here: Top 10 Land Survey Plan Scams By Fraudulent Land Surveyors! Study It Carefully https://www.nairaland.com/921525/top-10-land-survey-plan

[size=16pt]3.QUESTION :[/size] [size=14pt]BUT WAIT LAWYER YOU SAID IF THE LAND WAS BOUGHT FROM A COMMON SELLER WHICH MEANS THE SAME PERSON BUT THE PERSON WHO SOLD IT TO ME SAID HE WAS THE FAMILY HEAD OF THE AJANGBADI CHIEFTAINCY FAMILY WHO SIGNED MY DOCUMENTS AND WITNESSED BY A PRINCIPAL MEMBER OF THAT AJAMGBADI FAMILY AT LANGBASA IN IBEJU LEKKI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND WHILE THE OTHER PERSON CONTESTING THE LAND WITH ME ALSO BROUGHT DOCUMENTS SHOWING ANOTHER FAMILY HEAD OF THE AGBALUMO CHIEFTAINCY FAMILY AT LANGBASA IN IBEJU LEKKI LOCAL GOVERNMENT WHO ARE ALSO CLAIMING TO BE THR TRUE OWNERS OF THE LAND SOLD TO HIM. WHO THEN ARE WE TO BELIEVE AND TRUST AND HOW DO WE DETERMINE THE TRUE TRADITIONAL FAMILY THAT HAD THE RIGHT TO SELL THE LAND?[/size]

[size=16pt]ANSWER: [/size] The Legal Rule here is that a party relying on Evidence of tradition in proof of ownership of land when it relates as to the true ownership of the Land Family Wise, must establish facts as to the following:

A. WHO FOUNDED THE LAND

B. HOW THE LAND WAS FOUNDED

C. HOW THE LAND WAS TRANSFERRED TO THEIR FAMILY FROM TIME IMMEMORIAL AND IT MUST STAND ON PURE TRADITONAL HISTORY WHICH CAN BE FURTHER CONFIRMED.

D. THE FAMILY WHO SOLD THE LAND TO THE BUYER MUST ESTABLISH THEY ARE THE TRUE AND GENUINE OWNERS WITH COGENT, CREDIBLE, CONSISTENT AND UNCONTRADICTED EVIDENCE TO SHOW THAT THEY HAD THE CAPACITY TO SELL.

Evidence that are not Consistent, but have discrepancies cannot support a party’s proof of ownership to land.

(This is where it is important to do a proper family search to determine the true owners of the land. Due to our traditional family culture, Land is passed down to many wives and Children and each portion of land is Partitioned to give each branch of family its own portion to manage, Use or sell and it’s the Buyer’s duty to determine which family land has been properly partitioned and has the capacity to sell.
The problem arises when another Omonile member from another portioned family decides to go and sell lands that doesn’t belong to his family side or that has been properly apportioned by the General family head and he ends up issuing false receipts and signing false documents under the pretext of being the True Family head.

The Law will not back you up because the transaction was dubious from the beginning. So a proper family search will aid you here so that you don’t look like a fool in front of the Police or Court when your trying to prove your case because it will definitely fail in favour of the other party also claiming ownership of that same land.

TRUE STORY:

I Assisted a Client sometime in 2008 to buy some plots of land somewhere in Langbassa Ibeju Lekki . Now this wasn’t my kind of land I usually assist people to buy because the Land was a large expanse of Virgin land that just had a general Perimeter survey plan and the Gazette that time was still under processing at Alausa so it really didn’t have any legal document to back the claims of the sellers of the Land apart from the Perimeter Survey and the family stories of First ownership of the land from time immemorial due to conquest from another rival village and their great grand father took possession of the lands which has devolved down to the children over time.

There was no way to ascertain ownership of the land at Alausa or at the Survey General’s office apart from the land was under acquisition and that the community were applying for their Gazette. The client was adamant that he want to buy those lands because they were cheap and that the Family head had told him there was no wahala on the land and no other person or group of persons could lay claim to the land other than his family. On the strength of the Family Head’s claim, I reluctantly agreed to the purchase of the lands and he was issued a Deed of Assignment and Family receipt.

One major thing I fought for before I made my client part with money was to Incorporate in the Deed of Assignment the stories how the Family head claimed Ownership of land transferred to them over the years and made sure the family head and 7 other family members sign the deed of assignment and consented to the receipt issued by the Family head.

The client was happy he had secured a good deed and left the land unattended to and news now filtered to him sometime last year that Another person had started clearing his land to build and when he came to confront the person it led to a shouting match and police coming to arrest all parties. During the Investigation, the new person couldn’t trace his ownership of the land to the family properly and how the land transferred to him while the Family head attested to the ownership of the land by calling all the names that from time immemorial was in possession of the land till it got to my client. This proof of Traditional evidence helped my client regain his land and his lawyer even had to drop the case because his client couldn’t prove he had the traditional evidence to trace the title of his land.

[size=16pt]QUESTION 2:[/size] [size=14pt]OK WHAT IF THE OTHER PARTY CLAIMING OWNERSHIP OF THE LAND ALSO HAS ALL THE SAME DOCUMENTS I ALSO HAVE? WHO THEN OWNS THE LAND?[/size]


[size=16pt]ANSWER:[/size] The Position of the Law is that WHEN THERE ARE 2 CONTENDING PARTIES IN THE DISPUTE DERIVED FROM A COMMON SELLER, THE FIRST IN TIME TAKES PRIORITY. This means the First person on the land who bought his first has the strongest title and the second person must give way to the earlier Purchaser no matter how painful it is for the second buyer. This was stated in The Supreme Court Case between AYANWALE V ODUSAMI IN 2011.

Here the First in time means the first person who first bought the land through all the evidences of the documents he has before the second person bought the land unknowingly. That is why you must do a search properly before you buy any land so that you don’t fall victim of this Rule and be the unfortunate second person on the land.

Omoniles are extremely fond of this whereby they resell the same land to 2 or more people because of their greed or because the land has been left unattended to. Please be careful and be wise here.

For quite a while now I have been teaching people who intend to buy lands in Lagos especially how to avoid Omonile land scams, fraudulent agents or sellers and the requirements to buy lands or properties properly to avoid problems, wahala or unnecessary issues.

But what if the deed has been done?

What if your already a victim of Omonile or you have been defrauded or the land you saved Millions of Naira to purchase has been sold to 2 or more people, or your documents have been discovered to be forged or fraudulent, or you have left your land unattended to after you bought it and the day you decide to go and clear the grass you see another person has started foundation work on your land or even the land you bought legally with no complains at all and when you begin work, your workers call you that somebody has brought some thugs to pursue your workers claiming true ownership of the land and the person is banding around an old purchase receipt given to him by the family head he bought from in 1978 etc.

In short you have all come across these kind of stories either personally or heard about them from either a family member, friend or colleague and most have given up or abandoned the land and forego the millions spent to purchase the land and moved on quietly to count their losses and regrets and lose faith in purchasing lands.

Well it shouldn’t all be like this because now I will show you some of the legal remedies you have when such issues arise with some personal examples to aid you. Now I have to warn you here that most of these remedies have been successful 85% of the time and there are some that end up badly but this is just a guide and aid to assist you to prevent such an issue happening and if it is presently happening to you, follow some of these steps and God willing your land or something better should come back to you.

[size=16pt]QUESTION 1:[/size] [size=14pt]I JUST BOUGHT A LAND AWHILE AGO AND 6 MONTHS LATER I HAD A CALL THAT SOMEBODY HAS ENCROACHED ON MY LAND AND IS CLAIMING OWNERSHIP OF THE LAND I BOUGHT FROM ONE AJAMGBADI FAMILY MEMBER AT LANGBASA IN IBEJU LEKKI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND HE HAS TOLD ME WHEN I WANTED TO BUY IT THAT IT WAS HIS FAMILY LAND AND IT HAS NEVER BEEN SOLD TO ANYONE. THE OTHER PARTY THAT ENCROACHED MY LAND IS TELLING ME ANOTHER FAMILY CALLED AGBALAGBI CHIEFTAINCY FAMILY CLAIMING TO BE THE FAMILY HEAD SOLD THE SAME LAND TO HIM 9MONTHS AGO AND HE TRAVELLED TO THE UK TO GATHER MONEY TO DO HIS FOUNDATION AND NOW HE IS BACK TO CLAIM FULL OWNERSHIP OF THE LAND. WHAT DO I DO? I HAVE INVESTED MY LAST SAVINGS IN THIS LAND AND I DON’T WANT TO LOSE MY MONEY AND LAND. I AM CONFUSED! WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP I SHOULD TAKE TO RE-CLAIM MY LAND?[/size]

[size=16pt]ANSWER:[/size] Before you take that matter up to go to the police station or attempt to go to court that your land has been trespassed upon by an Usurper, you must first check yourself and the documents you possess as proof of ownership to know whether you have the following right documents to aid your case:

A. An Omonile Family Receipt from the Accredited Family Head and witnessed by both the Family Secretary and Principal Member stating their Family name and the date the Land was bought including the location of the plot of land, amount and known Family address.

B. A Duly signed Deed of Assignment showing the parties to the Agreement, the Family Members who sold the piece of land to you which must include the Family Members who sold the land to you which must include the Family Head, Secretary and Principal witness and it must be duly stamped.

C. A Valid Survey Plan showing all the Beacon Numbers, the Survey Plan number, the name of the Surveyor who surveyed it, the Year it was Surveyed including proof of Lodgment of the Red copy at the Survey-General’s office.

D. Mode of Payment both through a Bank Check or Draft and including witness to the Transaction.

This is the Position of the Law that was established in The Supreme Court Case between NWOKOROBIA V NWOGU IN 2009 where it was stated that One of the Ways to prove ownership of title to land is by Production of Documents of Title.

What this means is that for you to prove that you have a better title over the person claiming ownership of the same land, you must have a lot of Documents to boost your claim of Ownership of that land better than the other person.

TRUE STORY:

There was a client I assisted to buy 2 plots at Okun Mopo Ibeju last year owned by a particular Omonile family branch. They were the toughest I have ever encountered. Over the years they had sold lands to various people and issued them only family receipt nothing more. They were so ignorant about their lands that they didn’t know their lands had a government Excision and till date they call their Excision >>>> ‘ EXTINCTION’ . So if you ever venture to Okun Mopo Ibeju and you meet a family member telling you that they now have good papers including Government Extinction, don’t be alarmed. They mean Excision . . lol

Anyway, apart from the receipt, they issued no other form of documents to back up the Buyer’s claim and even a Survey plan wasn’t something they recommended. They would normally demarcate lands using Bamboo sticks to show which land they sold and the ones separated. I fought with them for weeks that apart from the Receipt, they should acknowledge a proof of receipt of the money via a Bank Draft. That one caused Wahala because they were used to collecting Millions of Naira in CASH so that they would share the money immediately amongst themselves. Using a Bank was a Taboo and I stood my ground for them to accept payment via a bank draft and acknowledge it.

Also I finally forced them to sign a deed of assignment. In fact this one was akin to the Iraq war. They refused wholesomely because they weren’t used to such protocols. They abused and rained insults on me as an ‘ ALAKOWE LAWYER, LAWYER TOO GOOD, MR PROTOCOL ETC’ I wasn’t deterred and made sure I finally had my way and my Client had all the documents he needed. They collected another 100,000 Naira for the signing of the documents and my client complained bitterly about that extra 100k and I should have just taken the receipt and walked away. Little did he know 1 year after that ‘LAWYER TOO GOOD” Stubbornness of mine will come to assist him. When another person came from no where to lay claim to his own land saying that’s where the Omoniles gave him, he could only produce a receipt showing payment for one plot of land.

That one plot was not described or defined in any way and he couldn’t trace the exact person who signed the receipt for him and when we got to the police station, We tendered our deed of assignment from the family directly, the Survey plan showing the exact specification and location of the land, a signed copy of the acknowldgement of money and official receipt including a copy of the Excision tracing the land to it and counter signed by the Cabinet Office at Alausa plus a picture of the Family receiving money and signing the documents. The other party was weak and kept on studying our documents till he gave up and promised to come back to shoot all the family members if they didn’t return his money.

What killed the other party’s claim to the land was the lack of production of Documents to title. If he had all his documents intact and was as thorough as me, he won't have had this problem. So please get all your documents intact so as to aid your case tomorrow in case there is any dispute on your land.

I fully endorse this post and you can also call me to explain more about the legal aspect of Ogombo! Over 50 nairalanders have bought lands in Ogombo in the last 2 years that I have handled personally and if there is ever any Nairaland Community or Estate, Ogombo has won hands down. Very easy to deal with Omoniles, no Omonile Wahala since I have been dealing with them ( which is a major shock because I don't trust any Omonile), documents don't take long to be signed and if there is any issue, they are willing to assist to solve the problem intelligently which is alien to most Omniles in Lagos always looking for problems so that they can see money to chop! Best part of it is that you can negotiate easily with the owners and their prices are flexible. Bottom line I love Ogombo because it's the only place I can endorse with my eyes closed without any fear of land theft, trespass or fraud ( but you must go through the right source so that they can protect you adequately). Call I or tony for more details and take advantage of Omoniles for once with their bonanza price lowering so that they can buy their Sallah Ram in advance ooo because they need money o!

Cheers

I fully endorse this post and you can also call me to explain more about the legal aspect of Ogombo! Over 50 nairalanders have bought lands in Ogombo in the last 2 years that I have handled personally and if there is ever any Nairaland Community or Estate, Ogombo has won hands down. Very easy to deal with Omoniles, no Omonile Wahala since I have been dealing with them ( which is a major shock because I don't trust any Omonile), documents don't take long to be signed and if there is any issue, they are willing to assist to solve the problem intelligently which is alien to most Omniles in Lagos always looking for problems so that they can see money to chop! Best part of it is that you can negotiate easily with the owners and their prices are flexible. Bottom line I love Ogombo because it's the only place I can endorse with my eyes closed without any fear of land theft, trespass or fraud ( but you must go through the right source so that they can protect you adequately). Call I or tony for more details and take advantage of Omoniles for once with their bonanza price lowering so that they can buy their Sallah Ram in advance ooo because they need money o!

Cheers

I fully endorse this post and you can also call me to explain more about the legal aspect of Ogombo! Over 50 nairalanders have bought lands in Ogombo in the last 2 years that I have handled personally and if there is ever any Nairaland Community or Estate, Ogombo has won hands down. Very easy to deal with Omoniles, no Omonile Wahala since I have been dealing with them ( which is a major shock because I don't trust any Omonile), documents don't take long to be signed and if there is any issue, they are willing to assist to solve the problem intelligently which is alien to most Omniles in Lagos always looking for problems so that they can see money to chop! Best part of it is that you can negotiate easily with the owners and their prices are flexible. Bottom line I love Ogombo because it's the only place I can endorse with my eyes closed without any fear of land theft, trespass or fraud ( but you must go through the right source so that they can protect you adequately). Call I or tony for more details and take advantage of Omoniles for once with their bonanza price lowering so that they can buy their Sallah Ram in advance ooo because they need money o!

Cheers

All those calling me, NO BE ME oooooooo! I nefa go Abuja before ooo!

Mo Gbe oooo! The Summary is that Girls have Maga 1, Maga 2 and or Maga 3 also known as boyfriend 1 on Campus that sleeps with her, her academic partner and Friday jaiye jaiye bobo and Boyfriend 2 who is a young salary earner living modestly and deceiving himself that he has a fiancee to be that is still in school and he is waiting for her to graduate and boyfriend 3 who is her sugar daddy to pay for shoes, bb, Brazilian hair and her lau lau pocket money.

So the question really to ask all guys involved with a girl on Campus is: Are you Maga 1, Maga 2 or Maga 3!

For the first time I am endorsing an Abuja based Agent I have known for a while. He is very honest and trustworthy and I can vouch for him. For a year or so we have been working on getting something for our Abuja based Nairalanders looking for something to purchase that is free from wahala, reasonably priced and with good title and we have been able to get something finally and I must commend Hakir for the time, money and passion involved in making sure he gets something beneficial for Nairalanders. Everywhere we went, na so so land N40million, N80million, senators quarters this or big man area that but we finally found something very very reasonable and I will be glad you appreciate his efforts.


Feel free to contact Hakir or I for more info

Cheers

For a long time now, a lot of fraudulent agents have been on Nairaland posting properties that have no head or tail and violating the rules of the property section. You see some of them posting over 20 Properties for sale on the home page and they either have no direct link to the properties or are just making the property section very unbearable to read and enjoy. So I now want to be exposing them and banning them and advising you to avoid them at all costs because they are confirmed Scammers.

So when ever you see a property for sale by an Agent on Nairaland, please endeavor to click on the Agent's profile to see if the Agent has been banned. A banned agent is a clear cut sign that the person has evidence of bad character and not following the rules no matter how simple they seem and if they can't follow a simple rule here, how would you now trust such a person with your hard earned money.

For example people like Osazeyankee, faithfulness, 4evaGod etc are serial spammers and they is no way I can vouch for these people for you to do business with them because they don't follow simple rules and they continue to open new Nairaland I.ds to market fictions properties. So please be advised to ALWAYS check an Agent's Profile by clicking on their name. The moment you see the agent has been banned especially for spamming for more than 3months please have absolutely nothing to do with that person or agent. The Moderators on Nairaland have now taken a tough stand to weed out fraudsters, spammers, trolls and thieves that intend to make life unbearable for viewers of the property section and please don't hesitate to assist us in pointing out those that we have missed.

Continue to type their names here when ever you see an agent has over populated the Nairaland property section with more than 3 posts per day instead of using the bulk property forum. A person that does not follow the rules behind a computer will never follow the rules in real life to safeguard your money. Its just simple logic!

It takes maximum 1 month to get it out. If you have submitted it 3 times it's either your work has a query to the person helping you is trying to scam you to collect money for work not done.

Cheers

Greg etafia, Furo IYenemi, Austin Egbueavon, Baruwa, Dumbraye

Mennn see as US is using Nigeria to practice for the future slam dunk competition!!!!

Some of you are just extremely ignorant about facts and if you dont know "ask" so people will educate you. Mukina is a Supermod and its her duty to make sure there are topics on the home page to keep the readers interested. Each section has its own moderator that should provide at least 1 or 2 topics a day to populate the Home page and she does that diligently whenever a moderator gives her a topic to post. She does not only post these topics but she scrutinizes them and edit them for your consumption.

Now when there are a dearth of topics from the moderators per Forum, she goes to each forum to see which topic is trending both on NL and or on the internet to keep NL informed. Yes some topics look stupid but remember it wasnt Mukina that posted the original topic but she helps to popularize Nl members and topics that would have gotten poor viewership if it wasnt on the Home page.

This woman is an Amazon and she has been doing this for years diligently. Rather than accuse her she should be praised and respected for her true dedication to this selfless job that i know if it was given to this poster to do, he will abandon it in 72hours.

Mukkie i de your back no shaking!!! Your boys are loyal