Land Title Perfection and Legal Issues and Challenges of Land Registration in Nigeria

Land is nature’s gift to humans and on it we live, build, farm, excavate minerals resources which to a great extent sustain livelihood. In different climes, land is seen as belonging to the Crown, the Governor, the communities or families. In Nigeria, the Land Use Act vests all lands in Nigeria with the exclusion of federal lands to the the Governor of the State who holds same in trust and is to administer it to the common benefit of all Nigerians. When applicants are allotted land by Government or purchased lands from others, such conveyance must registered. Land registration is the process of recording rights in land either in the form of Deed or title registration. Deed registration has called to question the need for a comprehensive storage, preservation and registration of land titles. Lack of registration of land has led to uncertainty in land transactions; loss of income; land title litigation; loss of lives; state lands have remained unknown; review of title deeds and interest takes much longer time in cases where the land is currently unregistered; fraudsters and corn-men target unregistered land as they can easily fake documentation for it. On the other hand, registration of land title provides security of title. Once a title holder is registered and title has been investigated and put in register, proof of title becomes easier as the register becomes evidence of title. Registration of land provides full information about the title and land which can be downloaded form the land registry website in seconds. Under the Title registration system, where title is registered, and the owner of land has become a subject of an elaborate fraud; title holder can claim indemnity from the land registry; lost deeds and instruments relating to a parcel of land poses no challenge as land information is safely stored in land registry database can be retrieved and updated at any point in time; land registration protects the valid property rights of an individual or group, it is a viable way of preventing conflict regarding ownership or rights and it makes buying and selling of land much easier. The work adopts the doctrinal method of research. Case laws and statutes were scrutinized and applied in the light of present realities. The article found out that there are many issues and challenges bedeviling the land registration procedure in Nigeria which include the general public lack of adequate awareness of the need to register land at the land registry; high cost of land registration; long duration of land registration; corruption issues, lack of manpower; irregularities in documentation and bureaucratic bottleneck. The article proposed three abatement methods to nip in the bud these legal issues to wit: thorough investigation of land title before registration by the land registry; the use of cadastral mapping and implementation of the geographical information system in all states in Nigeria. The work recommended that the cost of land registration should be modest and the duration of registration should be streamlined. This article finally recommended that purchasers of land need the services of property lawyers to assist in drafting a complete and competent sealed Deed of conveyance; they ought to pay for stamp duties, apply for Governor’s consent and register the Deed of Conveyance to complete the real property registration and acquire a registered title that can stand the test of time.