DUNU Chambers

SAFEGUARDS WHEN PURCHASING A LAND IN NIGERIA:

By Douglas Ogbankwa Esq.

Purchasing a land can be a thing of great joy,but if you are not careful,it could be a living nightmare!

The following are safeguards when purchasing a land in Nigeria.

1.Let a Lawyer be with you at the beginning of the Transaction.It makes the Land Speculators to do the right thing ,from the beginning, knowing that a good Lawyer will detect fraud or discrepancies from the start.

2.Never make payments and sign documents later,most times after making payments,the Vendors become evasive and elusive ,knowing there is nothing to look on to

3. Never pay cash for land purchases ,do a bank transfer , issue a cheque or raise a draft to provide a trail of evidence .

4.Investigate title and ownership before purchase,don't believe every information given to you by the Vendor,subject it to scrutiny .

5. If they say the Vendor is abroad, insist on a Power of Attorney from the Vendor to a person here in Nigeria and go on line to verify the authenticity of the fact,by using social media channels to reach the Vendor.

6.Let the person who introduced you to the transaction sign as a witness for you

7.Always put dates in your Deeds of Transfer or Assignment ,an undated document has no probative value in Law-as per a ratio by the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

8 .If the land document is registered ,conduct a search at the Lands Registry to ascertain ,if there had been a Transfer ,if there was a Charge ,Mortgage ,Caveat or any kind of encumbrances whatsoever .

9.If the Owner of the land is dead, demand for a document conferring ownership on the Vendor ,like Letters of Administration,Document of Sharing or Order from the Customary Court .

10.Take your documentation seriously ,do not patronize quacks or business centres,be guided that according to the Land Instrument Preparation Law,,every document relating to land must be prepared by a Legal Practitioner,failure of which ,what you have will be a worthless sheet of paper!Pay right now or you will pay more later.

11. If you are not sure of the genuineness of the Land,pay Instalmentally,do some work to ascertain encumbrance or otherwise .

12.Do not allow the Vendor to rush you, while doing a land transaction ,being rushed is a red flag,that the land may not be genuine .

13.Always insist on a receipt for every payment made ,to give you evidence of same.

13.Do a Survey Plan immediately after purchasing a land, and lodge it in the Lands Registry,to put on purchase on official records .

14.Do not buy a land and leave it fallow,make sure you have contact of people around the land to monitor it for you and to alert you against any Trespass.

15.Make sure you have pictures and videos of the signing of the Land Documents,the children of the Vendor may feign ignorance of your transaction ,if for any reason the Vendor dies.

16.Do not allow the Vendor to get a Lawyer for you,get your Lawyer that will protect your interest.

17.Make sure the Community Leaders are aware of your purchase of land in their c
Community ,it makes fraud less likely and makes your purchase public knowledge.

18.Read through before signing a Land Document,every word is important and the Law only interprets your agreements and not your thoughts. "Pacta Sunt Servada "-Parties are bound by their Agreements.

19.You may require the Vendor to swear to an Affidavit of ownership,so if it turns out that he is not the Owner ,it becomes a Criminal issue of lying on Oath -Perjury.

20. Buying a Land from an individual that is ascertained to be the Owner of the land,is likely to be more authentic than buying from the Community!Be more thorough ,when buying from the Community!

21.Ensure you make the Vendor to sign and receipt and indemnity for you and ensure every Deed of Transfer prepared for you have an indemnity clause.If the land is fake ,the Matter becomes an automatic case of fraud.

LATE CHIEF GANI FAWEHINMI,
GREAT AND IRREPLACEABLE MINISTER IN THE TEMPLE OF JUSTICE

When Chief Gani's 14-years old first child asked for his dad's support to go to the Nigeria Defence Academy taking the NDA's form to his father to sign, Chief Gani left the form, reached for the cane and flogged the young man for planning to join his tormentors.

From Kaduna prison to Jos prison, from Gombe prison to portharcourt prison, from Kuje prison to Ikoyi prison, Chief Gani Fawehinmi was the most jailed human right activist from Nigeria.
For raising his voice against injustice, his books were confiscated, his library set ablaze, his house and chambers were always raided and he was assaulted on Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way in Lagos by Naval officers.
His travails from security agents never dissuaded him from defending the poor and the weak in the society.

"I defended the students of University of Ibadan in 1971 when one of the students, Kunle Adepeju, was shot dead by the police under Gowon’s regime and the government of the day set up a Commission of enquiry headed by Justice B. O. Kazim and I represented the students for 5 months in that tribunal of enquiry. In 1976, I defended the students of University of Benin against the wrath of the military government. In 1983, under Shehu Shagari, there was a peaceful demonstration by more than 4000 students of the University of Maiduguri against the misdirected high handedness of the leadership of Professor Jubril Aminu, (former Nigerian Ambassador to the U.S.) Several students were expelled and their education illegally truncated. I fought to the Supreme Court to obtain victory. This is just to mention few of my struggles for justice." Gani recalled.

They always came for him. He was arrested on his 50th birthday.

"I witnessed one of the times they came to arrest him in the house. They were about armed 20 policemen. It was as if they were coming to take a criminal and they brought a big Black Maria. He told them, ‘Gentlemen how are you? Are you ready?’ He told my mum to take care of us and he followed them" His daughter, Idiat recalled.

Due to incessant arrest Chief Gani always kept a bag with toothpaste, toothbrush and the Qur'an with him-always ready for jail.

When he was asked the possibility of defending Ralph Uwazurike he said:

"If am approached by Uwazurike to take up his case, I will fly straight to wherever he is or, if I cannot go there by air, I will go there by road. If I cannot go there by road, I will trek to defend his right to hold an opinion because freedom of speech is a fundamental right. Because he has the right to pursue any objective and if they feel that his objective is criminal, then he has the right to defend himself in the court of law and we shall defend the issue of his fundamental rights".

The incorruptible Chief Gani was able to speak truth to powers because he had nothing to hide. He once said;

"I have never got any contracts from any local government, state government or from federal government. I don’t even know the house of ministers. I never met any Head of State in my life. I’ve never met any minister in my life. I’ve never submitted any application for contract anywhere in my life. I have never submitted any application for contract at any level whatsoever."

Chief Gani was Unbiased, detribalized and unsentimental patriot. When his own daughter was working in his Chambers, she either resumed before/at 7am or be locked outside the gate like any latecomer.

Chief Gani's lung began to deteriorate while doctors were busy focusing on his heart and blood pressure. It got so bad that he called his cardiologist, Dr Mike Fadayomi, his childhood friend from the age of four. He is one of the best cardiologist in this world. He directed Chief Gani to a radiologist to do the X-ray first. When he (radiologist) came with the wet X-ray and showed it to Gani and Fadayomi, the cardiologist shouted;

"Gani something dangerous is wrong with your left lung. You must run to London. I don't understand this"

When Chief Gani got to London the doctors told him that he was among the 5% patients in the world who don't smoke or drink and yet had lung cancer.
Gani narrated his ordeals to the doctors in London and one of them hinted that his "horrible detention" must have triggered the lung failure.
The human right activist was asked to prepare for the worst and Gani wept.

To prevent politicians from "hijacking" his burial, Gani bought his casket while alive and made cash available for his funeral with instructions to his children about how he liked his funeral to be.

Chief Gani Fawehinmi literally lost his voice to the ravaging lung cancer before his Sun finally set on 9th September 2009. And Nigeria hasn't been able to find a replacement for that voice of justice and courage till date.

Let's celebrate another selfless Nigerian
A legal icon
A symbol of justice
And OUR HERO.