Understanding land title in Nigeria: C of O, Governor's Consent, Excision and Gazette

Most land disputes in Nigeria do not start with a dishonest seller. They start with a title question nobody asked at the right time — usually before money changed hands.

A Certificate of Occupancy, or C of O, is the strongest form of title a Nigerian landowner can typically hold. It is issued by a state government and confirms that the holder has the right to occupy and use the land for a defined term, usually 99 years. If a property has one, ask to see it, and confirm the name on it matches the person selling.

Governor's Consent applies when land already under a C of O changes hands. Under the Land Use Act, the governor's consent is required to make that transfer valid — a sale without it is legally incomplete, even if money and a receipt have exchanged hands. This is one of the most common gaps in Nigerian property transactions, and one of the easiest to miss if nobody points it out.

An Excision is different again: it is the process by which a state government removes a portion of land from a larger area it had previously acquired or gazetted, releasing it back to the original community or family for allocation. Land within an excised area is generally safer to buy than land still inside an un-excised government acquisition, but the excision itself should be verifiable, not just claimed.

A Gazette is the official government publication that records these decisions — acquisitions, excisions, and revocations. When in doubt about a title claim, the gazette is where it gets checked, not the seller's word.

None of this is complicated once it is explained. It is complicated when nobody explains it, which is exactly the gap that lets bad transactions happen. Every land listing on this catalogue states its title position — C of O, Governor's Consent, Excision or Gazette — before you ever arrange to inspect. That order matters: the title question should be answered before you spend a day traveling to see the land, not after.