₦airaland Forum

What if the 3rd person is dead ?

In business, watch well, it's better you lose the opportunity, than to lose the opportunity with your hard earned money, forget the potential profit

The presence of all the co-owners is necessary. Written consent is not enough. It is also necessary to get all the co-owners to give their consent live and virtually documented through video recording. That's a powerful authentication. Videos do not lie and can be verified.

PropertyQuestNG:
Happy Tuesday, Nairaland!

As promised, today I'm sharing a real case from my practice. I've changed names and minor details to protect privacy, but everything else is 100% true.
This story will show you why EVERY SINGLE DETAIL matters in property transactions.

THE STORY OF MR. ADELEKE (not his real name)
In 2023, Mr. Adeleke, a 45-year-old businessman, decided to buy a commercial property in Ikeja. The asking price was N45 million, and after negotiations, they settled at N42 million.

The seller, Chief Benson (not real name), seemed legitimate:

• Well-dressed, drove a nice car
• Had an office in a decent area
• Showed all the documents (C of O, Survey Plan, Tax receipts)
• Even had a lawyer present during meetings
Mr. Adeleke was impressed. He paid N15 million deposit and agreed to pay the balance within 60 days.

WHAT WENT WRONG:

Mr. Adeleke came to my office AFTER paying the N15 million. He wanted me to help him complete the transaction and transfer the documents to his name.

When I examined the documents, I noticed something: The Certificate of Occupancy had THREE registered owners (joint ownership), but the Deed of Assignment being prepared only had TWO signatures.

I asked: "Where is the third owner's signature?"
Chief Benson said: "Oh, that's my younger brother. He's traveling abroad. He'll sign when he returns in 3 months."

I told Mr. Adeleke: "Don't pay another kobo until all three owners sign."

But here's where it got messy...

THE PLOT THICKENS:
We tried to reach the third brother. After weeks of calls and messages, we finally got him on the phone.

His response shocked everyone:

"SELL WHAT PROPERTY? I never agreed to sell! That's our family land. Chief Benson and my other brother don't have my consent!"

Immediately, we knew there was trouble.
It turned out:
• Chief Benson and one brother wanted to sell
• The third brother refused
• They thought they could forge his signature or convince him later
• They had already collected N15 million from my client

THE LEGAL BATTLE:
Mr. Adeleke demanded his money back. Chief Benson refused, saying "I'll convince my brother, just give me time."
Six months passed. No signature. No refund.
We filed a lawsuit. The case dragged for 18 months. Legal fees piled up. Mr. Adeleke's business suffered because his capital was tied up.

Eventually, the court ruled in our favor, but guess what?
Chief Benson and his brother had already spent the money. They claimed bankruptcy. We got a judgment, but collecting the money was another battle entirely.

As of 2025, Mr. Adeleke has only recovered N6 million of his N15 million. The rest? Gone.

THE LESSONS:

1. Joint Ownership Requires ALL Signatures: If a property has multiple owners (husband & wife, siblings, partners), EVERY SINGLE PERSON must sign the sale agreement. One missing signature makes the whole transaction invalid.

2. Don't Accept Excuses: "He's traveling," "She's sick," "He'll sign later" - these are all red flags. If someone can't sign NOW, postpone the deal until they can.

3. Verify Before You Pay: Mr. Adeleke paid N15 million BEFORE proper verification. If he had consulted a lawyer BEFORE paying, we would have spotted this issue immediately.

4. Get Your Lawyer Involved Early: Don't wait until after payment to hire a lawyer. We should be there from day one, reviewing documents and asking the hard questions you might not think to ask.

5. Winning a Court Case Doesn't Guarantee Your Money Back: Even if you win in court, if the seller has spent or hidden the money, recovery is extremely difficult.

THE PAINFUL TRUTH:

Mr. Adeleke lost N9 million (so far) plus legal fees of about N800,000, plus the mental stress and time wasted.
All of this could have been avoided if he had:
• Hired a lawyer BEFORE paying deposit
• Insisted on seeing ALL owners sign before paying
• Done a proper title search
• Not rushed the process

RED FLAGS YOU SHOULD NEVER IGNORE:
🚩 "My co-owner will sign later" 🚩 "Just pay deposit first, we'll sort out documents later" 🚩 "Trust me, everything will be fine" 🚩 Any pressure to pay quickly 🚩 Reluctance to let you verify documents independently 🚩 "My lawyer friend will handle everything" (You need YOUR OWN lawyer!)

MY ADVICE TO YOU:

Property transactions are NOT romantic relationships where trust is enough. This is business. This is your hard-earned money.
VERIFY EVERYTHING. VERIFY EVERYONE. VERIFY EVERY SIGNATURE. VERIFY EVERY DOCUMENT.
If a deal requires you to "just trust" someone, it's not a deal - it's a gamble.

QUESTIONS FOR YOU:
1. Have you ever been in a situation where you had to "just trust" a seller? How did it turn out?
2. Would you have done anything differently than Mr. Adeleke?
3. Do you think N800,000 legal fees to avoid losing N15 million is worth it?
Drop your thoughts below. And if you have similar experiences, share them so others can learn.
Thursday, we'll talk about OMO ONILE and your legal rights when confronted. You don't want to miss that one!
Have a great weekend, and remember: Smart property owners verify EVERYTHING! 💯

From item 5 on Your Lessons Learnt:
I had similar experience in Ikorodu. I have a CofO of a plot of Land, omo onile sold the split the land into 2 and sold to 2 different people.
I went to court, one settled out of court, the other did not show up in court. Court gave judgement in my favour. But till date, I cant claim the land, because, any attempt to aproacch the land, omo onile will visit with all sorts of assorted machette and other weapons.

So I learnt that: Winning a Court Case Doesn't Guarantee Your Money /Land Back

SpencerForbes:
We learn everyday. Some men will still come out to shout they don’t learn anything from nairaland. I wonder if they can get this kind of information on Quora.

Some comments/people are meant to be ignored. They only criticize and cannot be satisfied. I think the owner of the forum is not bothered because he understands their nature.

Always use a lawyer. My friend miraculously escaped when a gang of criminals fronting as potential buyers of his property lured him to a location with the intention of strangling him after he'd have signed off his property to them. God saved him. It was a miracle they didn't succeed. Exactly the same thing they did to firman generators owner in Lagos.

Thank you for this piece of enlightenment 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

Thank you for sharing.

PropertyQuestNG:
Have a great weekend, and remember: Smart property owners verify EVERYTHING! 💯

Yankiss:
It's important to do thorough due diligence. But if court has ruled that money is returned, they could be sued further for disobeying court order willynilly. If property is co-owned, they have to share the landed property and use the portion of the willing signatories to compensate the purchaser. The lawyer didnt look at this? Dont try this shit with lowlifes. Juju will get you wherever you are. They may not even go to court, ever.

Like placing a lien on that land, since he has a judgement, esp because the land is an asset despite their claim of bankruptcy or insolvency. This will hopefully force their hand to sell, or have the third brother buy them out.

Thank you for this information

Thank you op

Very educative thread. Earlier today a police officer pulled me over to check documents, all valid. Then he pointed at the engine number bearing nil, told me I need a court affidavit and a police report for that. It sounded strange, I mean there are cars whose engine numbers are hidden or not easily seen, then there are well known cases of engine replacements. I gave him my opinion and he insisted he knows what he was saying. Same officers stopped me last year and checked the doors of the vehicle I was with and realized one has been replaced, they said I need an affidavit and a police report for that as well. I really wouldn't know if all these are actually lawful or just a means to extort motorists because they both sound strange. Can anyone give more insight on both cases please?

Thanks fergie001, oga mynd44 and nlfpmod. Thanks for posting this sensitive information

streetzdreamz:
Very educative thread. Earlier today a police officer pulled me over to check documents, all valid. Then he pointed at the engine number bearing nil, told me I need a court affidavit and a police report for that. It sounded strange, I mean there are cars whose engine numbers are hidden or not easily seen, then there are well known cases of engine replacements. I gave him my opinion and he insisted he knows what he was saying. Same officers stopped me last year and checked the doors of the vehicle I was with and realized one has been replaced, they said I need an affidavit and a police report for that as well. I really wouldn't know if all these are actually lawful or just a means to extort motorists because they both sound strange. Can anyone give more insight on both cases please?

post it on car tread

ALLNIGERIANSMAD:
you have problem with compression, go back and read, this time slowly with open brain

he has replied me well. Stop displaying your ignorance here. Just read his post and learn here. This is what seun created Nairaland for.

Very educative and informative message, thanks Op, we need more of this on nairaland mot the nude and portable news.


God bless us all

I have learnt from this topic

PropertyQuestNG:
.
If a deal requires you to "just trust" someone, it's not a deal - it's a gamble.

This statement really got me 😎

Thanks for the information

Svoboda:
Always use a lawyer. My friend miraculously escaped when a gang of criminals fronting as potential buyers of his property lured him to a location with the intention of strangling him after he'd have signed off his property to them. God saved him. It was a miracle they didn't succeed. Exactly the same thing they did to firman generators owner in Lagos.

Please can you drop the full gist I want to learn? ?

2busy:
From item 5 on Your Lessons Learnt:
I had similar experience in Ikorodu. I have a CofO of a plot of Land, omo onile sold the split the land into 2 and sold to 2 different people.
I went to court, one settled out of court, the other did not show up in court. Court gave judgement in my favour. But till date, I cant claim the land, because, any attempt to aproacch the land, omo onile will visit with all sorts of assorted machette and other weapons.

So I learnt that: Winning a Court Case Doesn't Guarantee Your Money /Land Back

Is there an ongoing appeal by the Omo onile on the land? If no, try get police involved.
It will cost you but you will take possession since you already have a judgement.
Ensure the police is from the state command or zonal command, not the division or area command as those ones are usually on their payroll

ElPhoche:
Like placing a lien on that land, since he has a judgement, esp because the land is an asset despite their claim of bankruptcy or insolvency. This will hopefully force their hand to sell, or have the third brother buy them out.

Exactly, it's only a court that can declare one bankrupt, so was there any such declaration by the court?
I'm sure declaration of bankruptcy involves liquidation of the individual's asset to cover his debt, since he is having a land that is under joint ownership, court would have splitted into 3, then sell one portion to offset his debt

ruggedtimi:
What if the 3rd person is dead ?

OP, please answer this question.

streetzdreamz:
Very educative thread. Earlier today a police officer pulled me over to check documents, all valid. Then he pointed at the engine number bearing nil, told me I need a court affidavit and a police report for that. It sounded strange, I mean there are cars whose engine numbers are hidden or not easily seen, then there are well known cases of engine replacements. I gave him my opinion and he insisted he knows what he was saying. Same officers stopped me last year and checked the doors of the vehicle I was with and realized one has been replaced, they said I need an affidavit and a police report for that as well. I really wouldn't know if all these are actually lawful or just a means to extort motorists because they both sound strange. Can anyone give more insight on both cases please?

Post this in the vehicles/car sections. You'll get an appropriate reply.

TheStoriesOfMan:
Post this in the vehicles/car sections. You'll get an appropriate reply.

Thank you.

Bunch of criminals

They ll cook up lies to sell property

PropertyQuestNG:
Have a great weekend, and remember: Smart property owners verify EVERYTHING! 💯

does it mean he can't recover the remaining balance or otilor?

And Tinubu no day there or Like one Bad thing Happen to nigeira,

RollinTNDA:
97% of Nairalanders will skip this post because it doesn't contain Portable. Tonto Dike, VDM

Bunch of scaliwags

OlujobaSamuel:
Exactly, it's only a court that can declare one bankrupt, so was there any such declaration by the court?
I'm sure declaration of bankruptcy involves liquidation of the individual's asset to cover his debt, since he is having a land that is under joint ownership, court would have splitted into 3, then sell one portion to offset his debt

Refer to the original post. It said they claimed bankruptcy, not that the court declared. Are they the same?

Denalarian:
Our youths are lazy.. they just know money and argue, very few intellects amongst them..

Dead this youths are lazy talk.

Nobody hustle reach youths of today.

If the previous generations were all that; Nigeria won't be where it is today.

Youths are lazy like the generation before them gave or left them with opportunities. Generation weh no fit even cover gutters feel they have the moral standing to call another generation lazy.

What a joke!

ElPhoche:
Refer to the original post. It said they claimed bankruptcy, not that the court declared. Are they the same?

I know. I'm only thinking out loud on the possible step to be taken from the point they are unable/unwilling to pay the balance

PropertyQuestNG:
Thank you for your comment. You’re right that I was eventually part of the process but the key issue is when.

I was not involved at the stage when the property was first seen or when the ₦15m deposit was paid. I was consulted after the money had already changed hands. Once payment is made, a lot of leverage is already lost.

If I had been involved before any deposit was paid, the issue of joint ownership and missing consent would have been identified immediately, and my client would not have paid a kobo.

That is actually the core lesson of the story:
👉 In property transactions, timing of professional involvement matters as much as involvement itself.

This post isn’t about shifting blame it’s about helping people avoid preventable mistakes by getting proper legal advice early, not after problems arise.

I appreciate the engagement. These conversations help people learn. 🤝

Am really surprised the court didn't order a forfeiture of the property until the remaining #9m is paid back what's then is the use of wasting time and money in taking the matter to court?