08/09/2026
UNDERSTANDING PROPERTY TITLES
Knowing that your property has a particular title does not mean you understand what that title means, you don't rush to buy a property simply because they tell you, It has a particular title.
Do you even know if that title is genuine or can be properly perfect so today, we are talking about PROPERTY TITLES IN NIGERIA.
When buying property, you will come across different forms of titles, including:
1. Excision
2. Gazette
3. Certificate of Occupancy (C of O)
4. Governor's Consent
5. Right of Occupancy (R of O)
I’m mentioning these five because they are some of the titles you will commonly hear about, these titles do not play the same role, so I will be breaking them down one after another, and we are starting with EXCISION.
When you hear a realtor say, “This land is excised,” what exactly does that mean?
Simply put, excision is a process through which the government releases a portion of land that was previously acquired or classified as government land back to the indigenous owners, subject to the terms of that release.
But here is where you need to pay attention, don't just hear “Excision” and pay, you need to verify the excision and confirm that the particular land you are buying actually falls within the area covered by it because you can have a situation where part of a larger area is covered by an excision, while another part is still under government acquisition.
For example, you want to buy a full plot and you are told, it has excision but after proper verification, you discover that the portion you are buying is not entirely covered, so before you make payment, make sure you confirm that the particular you are buying is covered
Because in real estate, it is not enough to know the title, you need to understand it, verify it, and know exactly what it covers, but when you buy land with excision, that's not the end of the process, you need to properly document your purchase and perfect your interest in the property.
We are stopping here today, tomorrow, we'll talk about GAZETTE and C OF O.
Thanks for reading