How to Verify a C of O Before You Pay a Kobo
Every bad Lagos property story starts the same way: someone saw a document that looked official, felt reassured, and paid. The C of O is the single most important piece of paper in a Lagos property transaction — and also the most commonly faked, forged, or quietly invalid one. Looking legitimate and being legitimate are two different things, and the gap between them is where most buyers lose money.
Here’s how to actually close that gap.
First, understand what a C of O really proves
A Certificate of Occupancy is the document that shows the Lagos State Government has granted someone the right to occupy and use a piece of land — it’s not full freehold ownership, but it’s the strongest form of title available under Nigerian land law. What it proves, when genuine, is that the person holding it has a legal, registered claim to that property. What it doesn’t automatically prove is that the person selling it to you is the same person it was issued to, or that it hasn’t already been used as collateral somewhere else.
That distinction is the whole game.
Request the original, not a photocopy
A scanned PDF or a photocopy tells you almost nothing — security features, registry stamps, and paper quality are exactly what fraudulent documents get wrong, and none of that survives a scan. Ask to see the original document in person, ideally through your representative rather than arranged by the seller. A seller who resists producing the original, or keeps offering reasons why “now isn’t convenient,” is telling you something.
Confirm the name on the document matches the seller
This sounds obvious and gets skipped constantly. The name on the C of O needs to match the person you’re transacting with — not their relative, not their “business partner,” not someone who assures you they’re “handling it for the family.” If the names don’t match, you need to see the chain of documentation connecting the original holder to the current seller, including any Governor’s Consent for a prior transfer. No chain, no deal.
Verify directly at the Lagos State Land Registry
This is the step that actually protects you, and it’s the one buyers most often skip because it feels like a formality. The registry can confirm whether the C of O is genuine, whether it’s still held by the name on the document, and whether the land has any encumbrances — existing mortgages, disputes, or government acquisition — attached to it. A property can have a perfectly real C of O and still be unsellable because of an encumbrance nobody mentioned.
Registry verification isn’t optional diligence. It’s the diligence.
Check for government acquisition
Lagos State has, at various points, acquired land for roads, infrastructure, and public projects — and some of that land still circulates informally in the market years later, sometimes still held by occupants with an old C of O who never updated anyone. A registry check will surface this. A handshake and a nice photo of the document will not.
Get a lawyer who works for you, not the seller
The seller’s lawyer’s job is to close the seller’s sale. Yours needs to be the one running the registry search, reviewing the chain of title, and confirming Governor’s Consent is either already in place or achievable before you commit funds. This is a few hundred thousand naira well spent against a deal that could otherwise cost you tens of millions.
Red flags worth stopping for
A few signs that should pause any transaction immediately: pressure to pay a deposit before verification is complete, reluctance to produce the original document, a seller’s name that doesn’t match the title without a clear explanation, or a price that’s noticeably below the area’s going rate with no obvious reason why. None of these automatically mean fraud — but every one of them means verify first, feel reassured second, not the other way around.
The order that protects you
See the original document. Confirm the name matches. Verify independently at the registry. Check for encumbrances and government acquisition. Only then does a deposit make sense. Buyers who skip steps to “move fast” on a good opportunity are almost always the ones who end up explaining, months later, what went wrong.
Title verification is the first thing we do on every property we represent — before a client ever sees a listing, not after they’ve fallen for one. If you’re about to pay for a property in Lagos, have the C of O checked before the money moves, not after.
