What a Certificate of Occupancy actually proves — and what it does not
A C of O is strong evidence of title. It is not conclusive proof of it, and the difference decides cases.
A parcel of land your family has occupied for two generations has been sold to someone else. Or the survey plan you were shown does not match the land you were taken to see. Or a building has gone up on a plot you paid for and hold a receipt for. Land matters in Benue State rarely arrive tidily — they arrive with an elder who remembers something differently, a document that may or may not have been registered, and someone already on the ground.
The law
What the law provides
Land in Nigeria is governed principally by the Land Use Act 1978, which vests all land in each state in the Governor, to be held in trust and administered for the use and common benefit of Nigerians. What a person holds is therefore not ownership in the absolute sense but a right of occupancy — statutory, where it is granted by the Governor, or customary, where it is granted or recognised under customary tenure.
A Certificate of Occupancy is the document evidencing a statutory right of occupancy. It is important to understand what it does and does not do. It is evidence of title; it is not conclusive proof of it. Nigerian courts have consistently held that a certificate issued over land that the grantor had no power to grant confers nothing, and it may be set aside where a better title is established.
Where land is held under customary tenure, the applicable customary law of the community governs how it is held, who may deal with it, and whose consent is required to alienate it. Family land is commonly held by the family as a unit, with the head of family and principal members having defined roles in any dealing. A sale made without the consents that customary law requires may be void, or voidable at the instance of those whose consent was withheld — the distinction matters a great deal to remedy.
Where a dealing in land requires the Governor's consent under the Land Use Act, a transaction concluded without it is exposed to challenge.
The process
What happens in practice
The first step is almost always investigation rather than litigation. That means a search at the relevant land registry to establish what is recorded, an examination of the chain of documents relied upon by each side, and — where the land is held under customary tenure — enquiry into the customary position and the persons with authority over it. A great many disputes resolve at this stage, because one side discovers that the document it relied upon does not say what it was thought to say.
Where a claim is brought, it proceeds in the High Court of Benue State, or in a Customary Court where the subject matter and the parties fall within its jurisdiction. A claimant in a land action must succeed on the strength of their own case, not on the weakness of the defence. In practice that means establishing title by one of the routes the courts recognise — traditional evidence, documents of title, acts of ownership over a sufficient period, acts of long possession, or possession of connected land.
Pleadings are exchanged, a survey plan is usually filed, and the matter proceeds to trial with oral and documentary evidence. Where a party is at risk of losing the land or the building on it before trial, an application for an order preserving the position pending determination may be made at the outset.
Land matters are frequently long. Nothing in this description should be read as an estimate of how long any particular matter will take.
Our role
How the firm acts
We conduct searches at the land registry and examine the documents in the chain of title. We take instructions on the customary position where the land is held under customary tenure, and identify the persons whose authority or consent the law requires. We advise on the strength of the position disclosed by that investigation before any claim is filed.
Where a matter proceeds, we prepare and file the originating process, pleadings and survey plan, brief and instruct surveyors and other experts where the case requires them, and appear at trial and on appeal. We also act on the non-contentious side — preparing deeds of assignment, leases and mortgages, and pursuing the consents and registrations required to perfect an interest in land.
Questions
Questions clients commonly ask
Does a Certificate of Occupancy mean the land is definitely mine?
No. A Certificate of Occupancy is evidence of a right of occupancy, not conclusive proof of title. Where it is shown that the person who granted it had no power to do so, or that a better title exists, a certificate can be set aside. It is a strong document, but it is not the end of the enquiry.
Someone is building on land I bought. What can I do now?
Take advice quickly. Where there is a risk that the position on the ground will change before a matter can be tried, an application may be made at the outset for an order preserving the position pending determination. Delay narrows the options available, so the timing of the first step matters.
Can family land be sold by one member of the family?
Generally not. Family land is held by the family as a unit, and customary law defines the roles of the head of family and the principal members in any dealing with it. A purported sale that lacks the consents customary law requires may be void, or open to being set aside by those whose consent was not obtained.
What documents should I bring to a first meeting?
Bring everything you have, even if it appears incomplete or informal — receipts, agreements, survey plans, any certificate or registered instrument, correspondence, and the names of the persons who witnessed any transaction. Documents that seem unimportant frequently turn out to be decisive.
Must a land dispute go to the High Court?
Not necessarily. Jurisdiction depends on the nature of the claim and the persons involved; some matters fall within the jurisdiction of a Customary Court. Where the dispute is between family or community members, it may also be capable of resolution without litigation, and that possibility is considered before a claim is filed.
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