How to verify land in Lagos from abroad: check the seller’s authority, the full title documents, the survey (charted at the Surveyor-General’s office), registry and court searches, Governor’s Consent, and the land itself through a trusted inspector. Pay only as each check clears, and use a lawyer for the searches.
Buying from the UK, USA, Canada, Australia or Dubai means you cannot walk the plot or visit the registry, and sellers know it. This guide follows the order our team uses on every file, with the official source for each check. As a diaspora real estate broker in Nigeria, we see the same mistakes repeatedly, so we name them as we go.
Want a professional to run these checks? Book a consultation and we will tell you what can be verified on your property before you pay.
Why are Nigerians abroad targeted by land scams in Lagos?
Buyers abroad are targeted because they pay from a distance and rely on other people’s word. Sellers and agents send photos, a survey plan and a receipt, then ask for payment. Our guides to property scams in Lagos and real estate scams in Lagos Nigeria cover the fraud types in detail. Three patterns repeat with diaspora buyers:
- Documents are treated as proof when they are only claims. A stamped paper arrives and the questions stop.
- A relative or friend “handles it” without training in title checks, and nobody is accountable when it goes wrong.
- Payment comes first and verification after. By then the money has moved.
The answer is not to distrust everyone. It is to put verification before payment and let people who can reach the registry and the site do the work.
What should you verify before paying for land in Lagos?
Run these eight checks in order and release money only after the earlier ones clear.
Property Due Diligence Checklist
| # | Check | Question it answers | Who carries it out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seller identity and authority | Is this person or company allowed to sell? | Your lawyer: ID, CAC search, family consent, probate, power of attorney |
| 2 | Full document set | Is the paperwork complete and consistent? | Your lawyer |
| 3 | Survey | Where exactly is the land, and is it free from government acquisition? | Licensed surveyor, charted at the Surveyor-General's office |
| 4 | Land registry search | Who is the registered owner, and are there mortgages or caveats? | Your lawyer, at the Land Registry |
| 5 | Court search | Is there a pending case over the land? | Your lawyer, at the court registry |
| 6 | Governor's Consent | Will the transfer be valid? | Your lawyer, with the Lands Bureau |
| 7 | Physical inspection | Is what you were shown what you are buying, and who is on it? | A trusted representative, on video |
| 8 | Payment and registration | Is your money going to the right account, and is the deed registered? | You and your lawyer |
The order matters because each check can end the deal cheaply. A seller who cannot prove authority should never reach the survey stage, and land that fails the survey should never reach a lawyer’s fee for consent. Buyers who start with the physical inspection or the payment tend to discover problems last, when walking away is most expensive. Keep a written record of every result, with the date and the person who produced it, so you can show it to a lawyer or a bank later.
Our Lagos real estate due diligence guide shows how these checks fit a full transaction, and our property due diligence Lagos service runs them for you.
How do you verify the seller's identity and authority?
Start here, because every later check is worthless if the seller cannot lawfully sell. Match the seller’s government ID to the name on the title documents exactly. Any mismatch needs a written explanation. Then confirm authority for the type of seller:
- Individual: ID plus proof that they hold the title.
- Company: search the CAC public search to confirm it exists and who its directors are, and ask for a board resolution authorising the sale. Pay the company, never a director’s personal account.
- Family land: the head of family and the principal members must all consent. One relative’s signature is not enough.
- Deceased owner: the seller needs a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration. A probate registry search shows whether one exists, as Resolution Law Firm explains on Mondaq.
- Agent: a registered power of attorney, checked at the registry.
This is the check diaspora buyers skip most often, because the seller is friendly and the documents look official.
Is a registered survey plan the same as a title document?
No. A survey plan shows where the land is and how big it is. A title document shows who owns it. Many diaspora buyers treat a registered survey as proof of ownership, and that confusion is costly.
A client in Canada paid about ₦40 million for land in Ibeju-Lekki without understanding what was inside the registered survey. He came to us afterwards, and when we checked, the coordinates fell under government acquisition. The survey was real. It simply did not prove he could own that land.
A proper survey check confirms three things:
- The surveyor is licensed. The plan carries the surveyor’s name, registration number, stamp, signature and date.
- The coordinates are charted at the Surveyor-General’s office. The charting report states whether the plot is free, under committed acquisition, under global acquisition, or inside an excised area with a gazette, according to Nigeria Property Centre.
- The plan matches the land on the ground and the title documents. Boundaries, size and location must agree.
Land under committed acquisition is, in practice, not released to private buyers. Where land is excised, confirm the gazette number and that your plot sits inside the gazetted boundary. Our step-by-step guide on how to check survey plan online in Lagos State walks through the process, and our verify land documents in Lagos checklist shows where the survey fits among the other documents.
Which title documents should you ask for in Lagos?
Ask for the full set, not a few pages the seller chose to show you. Depending on the land, that means:
- Certificate of Occupancy (C of O), if the land has one.
- Deed of Assignment showing how the seller acquired the land, plus the earlier deeds behind it.
- Governor’s Consent, where the title requires it.
- Excision and gazette documents, where the land was released from government acquisition.
- The survey plan, kept separate from the title in your mind.
Three rules apply to every document. First, names must match exactly across the ID, the title and the deeds. Second, your lawyer traces the root of title, meaning an unbroken chain of transfers back to the original owner, not only the document in front of you. Third, a genuine C of O is not the end of the checking. It can still sit under a family claim, a pending case or a broken chain of transfers, and forged C of Os exist, so your lawyer should confirm it with the Lands Bureau. An excision or gazette proves the land was released from acquisition. It does not prove the seller owns it.
Read our guides on land documents in Lagos, how to verify C of O in Lagos and how to verify land title documents in Nigeria. If you need help reading what you have been handed, our property documentation advisory Lagos service explains every document and the order things should happen in.
Is Governor's Consent required when you buy land in Lagos?
Yes, for land held under a statutory right of occupancy, and it belongs before completion, not after. Section 22 of the Land Use Actho bars the holder from alienating the right of occupancy without the Governor’s prior consent. Commentators describe a transaction without consent as incomplete and voidable.
What to do as a buyer:
- Get written confirmation from your lawyer on whether consent is required for this specific title.
- Make consent a condition of completion, so the balance of the price is not released before it is secured.
- Ask for a current cost estimate before agreeing a price. Lagos charges a percentage of the property’s assessed value, and since 1 May 2026 assessed values come from the revised Blue Book, which Nigeria Property Centre says are much higher in many areas.
- Know the route. The application goes to the Lands Bureau, mostly through the e-GIS portal, and ends with consent endorsed on the deed, which is then stamped and registered at the Land Registry. The Lands Bureau explains its Governor’s Consent workflow on its site.
Procedures and fees change, so ask your lawyer for the current process and a realistic timeline. Our guide to Governor’s Consent Lagos covers the detail. Unsure whether your title needs it? Schedule a verification call and we will tell you what to check.
How do you check for encumbrances and litigation?
Run two separate searches: one at the Land Registry and one at the courts. The Lands Bureau says its Directorate of Land Registry records land transactions and runs title searches. A registry search shows the registered owner and any mortgages, caveats or other charges. The court search shows pending suits. A clean registry result does not rule out a case.
A client in Cameroon bought land in an estate around Abijo without reviewing the property documents. The land turned out to be the subject of a court case. A document check and a court search before payment would have shown it.
The rules we apply:
- Treat pending litigation as a stop until it is cleared in writing.
- Estate land is not exempt. Ask the developer for the title to the whole parcel and search it like any other land.
- Get the results in writing from the lawyer who ran the searches.
Our guide on how to check land encumbrances in Lagos explains the searches step by step.
How do you avoid omo onile problems before you pay?
Omo onile problems start when someone with a claim to the land, real or invented, appears after you have paid. The defence is to find that claim before payment.
- Inspect the land, in person or through a representative on live video.
- Speak to neighbours and occupants and ask who the community recognises as the owner.
- For family land, confirm the head of family and principal members have all signed.
- Keep a receipt and written agreement for every payment. Never pay people who say they speak for the community without checking their authority.
- Plan fencing and security before you start building.
Read how to avoid omo onile problems in Lagos and our warning signs in land scams in Lekki.
Can you trust a power of attorney in a Lagos land deal?
Only after it has been verified. A seller’s agent who signs for the owner needs a power of attorney, and your lawyer should confirm it is registered and covers a sale. An agent’s own word is not authority.
If you are the buyer abroad and appoint someone to act for you, limit what they can sign, require written updates at each stage, and choose a lawyer or professional with a track record over a relative who has never handled a land deal. Ask your lawyer how to sign and authenticate documents from your country, since requirements differ between the UK, USA, Canada and elsewhere. Our guide to power of attorney land Nigeria covers both sides of the arrangement.
How do you verify a developer or agent in Lagos?
Check that they exist, are registered, and own or control what they are selling.
- CAC. Confirm the company name, directors and registration number on the CAC portal.
- LASRERA. Lagos requires real estate practitioners, including agents and developers, to register with the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority, and BusinessDay reported that operating without registration is illegal. Ask for the registration and check it.
- Title and approvals. Ask for the developer’s own title documents and planning approvals, then verify them like any other title.
- Track record. Visit completed projects, speak to earlier buyers, and prefer staged payments over one lump sum.
If an estate surveyor or valuer is involved, the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers publishes member and firm lists you can check. Apply the same checks to us: ATLAS REALTORS is the trading brand of ATLAS REAL ESTATE BROKER LTD, CAC registration RC-9072549 and SCUML registration SC251845670. Our guide on how to verify a real estate developer in Lagos has the full process.
How should you pay, inspect and keep watch afterwards?
Pay only into a verified account, and pay a company, not a director’s personal account. Stage payments against completed checks, and keep every receipt and written agreement. After completion, make sure the deed is stamped and registered. Our guide to how to pay for land in Nigeria safely from abroad covers the steps.
Inspection does not end at purchase. Empty land attracts encroachment, so arrange regular dated photos or video from a local contact. We explain how in remote property monitoring in Nigeria. Ready to set up your inspection? Reserve your video session and we will plan it with you.
What can the Lagos eGIS portal tell you, and what can't it?
The portal lets you search and verify records online. The Lagos State Land Registry portal at landonline.lagosstate.gov.ng is titled the Lagos eGIS Portal, and Nairametrics reported that residents can use it to search land records, check titles before buying and apply for titles, including Governor’s Consent.
It cannot tell you who is standing on the land, whether a family disputes it, whether the seller is who they claim to be, or whether the physical document in your hands is genuine. Portal layouts also change, so check each screen against the official site. Our Lagos eGIS portal guide shows the steps.
Does the location of the land change how you verify it?
Yes. Acquisition risk is not evenly spread. Nigeria Property Centre notes that large acquisitions exist along the Lekki–Epe corridor, in Ikorodu and around Badagry, and lists “free” land with no charting report as a red flag.
We work across the main diaspora corridors, each with its own page:
- real estate broker in Lekki Lagos
- real estate broker in Ibeju-Lekki Lagos
- real estate broker in Ajah Lagos
- real estate broker in Ikeja Lagos
- real estate broker in Epe Lagos
Compare areas in best areas to buy property in Lagos, and if you are looking at Ajah, read buy land in Ajah first. Unsure which area suits your budget? Speak with a Lagos property consultant before you pay a deposit.
How does verification work for buyers in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and Dubai?
The checks are the same everywhere, but time zones, payment routes and document signing differ. We have a guide for each country: buy property in Nigeria from UK, buy property in Nigeria from USA, buy property in Nigeria from Canada, buy property in Nigeria from Australia and buy property in Nigeria from Dubai.
Practical differences are small but real. Lagos is one hour ahead of the UK in winter and up to eight hours ahead of the US West Coast, so agree fixed times for video inspections and registry updates. Ask your bank how long an international transfer takes and whether it will ask for supporting documents, and sign any power of attorney or agreement in the way your lawyer advises for your country. None of this changes the order of the checks.
For a wider overview, read buying property in Nigeria from abroad and our page on Nigerian diaspora real estate investment. Each country also has a consultation guide: real estate consultation for Nigerians in the UK, real estate consultation for Nigerians in the USA and real estate consultation for Nigerians in Canada.
How does ATLAS REALTORS verify land for Nigerians abroad?
We run the verification for you from first contact to final report, and it takes up to three weeks, depending on the type of verification. Our team works with a group of lawyers who handle the legal searches and checks, and you receive professional documents with our findings. It is part of our wider range of real estate services in Lagos.
- Submit the property details. You send the survey, documents and seller information you have.
- We review what you sent. We assess the title, developer, documentation and loan-related information relevant to the checks you need.
- We carry out the verification. Ownership, title, seller, survey, location, registry, encumbrance, litigation and developer checks are done as they apply, with a physical inspection and video proof where it is part of your engagement.
- You receive the findings. We tell you what we confirmed, what we could not confirm, and which issues need attention before you pay.
Our property verification in Lagos service covers these checks. If you have not found a property yet, start with a real estate consultation in Lagos with a real estate consultant in Lagos. Each session is 45 minutes by video, and the current fee is explained in real estate consultation cost in Lagos.
Found a property already? Request a property verification and choose “Due Diligence (Property Verification)
What are the red flags in a Lagos land deal?
- Pressure to pay quickly. A genuine sale survives the time verification takes.
- A survey plan offered as the “title”.
- Only part of the documents, or pages chosen to reassure you.
- Names that differ between the ID, the deeds and the seller.
- A seller who will not let a surveyor chart the coordinates.
- A price far below nearby plots, especially near new roads.
- A company sale paid into a personal account.
- A developer who will not show its own title and approvals.
- Any refusal to allow a physical inspection.
Which official sites help you check each step?
Step | Official source |
|---|---|
Company and director check | |
Land Use Act, Section 22 | |
Registry search and title records | Lands Bureau Land Registry |
Governor’s Consent workflow | Lands Bureau |
Online land records | |
Estate surveyor or valuer |
Frequently asked questions
Can I verify land in Lagos without travelling?
How long does land verification take?
Is a C of O enough to prove clean title?
Is Governor's Consent compulsory in Lagos?
Is a survey plan proof that I own the land?
What is the difference between committed and global acquisition?
Can a relative inspect the land for me?
Who should verify a developer or agent?
Conclusion
How to verify land in Lagos from abroad is not a mystery, and it is not luck. It is a fixed order of checks: the seller, the documents, the survey, the registry and the courts, Governor’s Consent, and the land itself. Do them before you pay, get results in writing, and release money in stages.
Distance makes buyers abroad easy targets, but it does not have to make them careless. With the right lawyers, a licensed surveyor and a trusted person on the ground, you can buy with confidence. Start your land verification today and let our team confirm what can be verified before you send a naira.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Land procedures, fees and portals in Lagos change, so confirm current requirements for your specific property before you pay.
