₦airaland Forum

Treash:
The position of the law is that an illegal property acquisition CANNOT be cured by obtaining a Certificate of Occupancy (CofO) on the property. If you acquire a CofO on an improperly or illegally acquired land, the exercise is fruitless and the CofO is worthless. 

This was what the Supreme Court said in a recent case that there must have been an entitlement to a statutory right of occupancy before a certificate can be given as evidence of such right. The court further held that when there is no initial right and a certificate is issued, such certificate is not worth even the paper it is written on.

Therefore, it is pertinent to do your due diligence before acquiring a property in the first place. After proper acquisition, you can then proceed to obtain your Certificate of Occupancy or Governor's Consent as the case may be.