Real estate fraud especially in Lagos deeply hurt and affected over 500,000 victims last year and resulted in over N5 Billion Naira in losses traced to dubious real estate developers, unscrupulous agents, shady land or home sellers and deceitful Omo-onile customary landowners. Personally I have prevented over N300 Million Naira fraudulent land transactions this year alone and the numbers keep on increasing. Along the way, I have met smart buyers who claim to be very savvy in real estate matters but still ended up as victims to these property scammers because they refused to seek professional help from more experienced…

Whenever I try to educate people about the hazards of buying land without conducting a verification, I get a lot of reproaches, accusations and unpleasant comments from people ( Mostly dubious individuals to be honest). Some go as far as saying am a harbinger of bad news or creating mere fictional stories to scare people. With this in mind, I have decided to reluctantly expose the foolishness of one client (Name withheld) for attempting to purchase land without going through due process to verify a land. I will also show you the result of purchasing that property.     The…

Like a scene in one of these dumb Nollywood movies which we never really expect it to happen in real life, I came across one of the most elaborate hoaxes to defraud a client. Mr Babatunde through his agents was able to locate a property he was desirous of purchasing at Alapere Ketu Lagos.     After inspecting the property the agent now told him that it was a safe property to buy because it had a C of O. Mr Babatunde then decided to contact me to conduct a background check on the property and C of O. My…

Property buyers especially in Lekki, Elegushi, Agungi, Ajah, the Eti-Osa Environs and parts of Ibeju Lekki should be very wary before buying a property that has a Governor’s Consent because most of these Governor’s Consents have been questionably acquired at the land registry.     This is because falsified and forged survey plans have been presented by the Owners to the land registry to register. Due to the lax and porous process of obtaining a Governor’s consent at the land registry, dubious owners have perfected the art of presenting forged survey plans that are outside the original location of the…

Let me just drop this List here for you to ponder for 1 minute.   Nigerians are their own worst enemy. How can someone struggle to find a good property to buy without wahala, spend so much money to acquire the land from Agency fees to Survey plan fees and when its time to take possession of the land, the community now presents this Stupid ” OMO-ONILE FEES” to you? If you choose not to pay it, they would prevent you from working even if you bought the land for N100 Million.   To put Foundation on the land N200,000…

Buying a Land that is committed is a one-way ticket to getting your property revoked without compensation and if you foolishly construct a structure on it, it would be happily demolished by the Lagos State Government with no remorse.     There are so many wicked Sellers, Agents, Developers, Lawyers and Surveyors who knowingly take advantage of the ignorance of buyers to sell their lands that they know outrightly belongs to the government but due to their innate greed, still, go ahead to market the land for sale. They have no empathy or compassion for the victim and only see…

A community leader in Oguntedo Village, Satellite Town, Lagos State, Yussuf Olarinde, has accused a businessman, Elias Ukachukwu, of threatening to kill him over some plots of land.     Speaking to our correspondent on Friday, Olarinde said despite a court ruling on the land in favour of his family, Ukachukwu had been using his closeness to some top security officials to harass and intimidate him and members of his family in a bid to take over the land.     He said the businessman had boasted openly that he would kill him or send him to jail where he…

Welcome to Omonile Lawyer’s LIST OF RISKY AND DANGEROUS LANDS TO BUY , a section that gives you a rundown of some of the Worst Areas, Estates, Places and dubious Lands offered for Sale in Lagos State today that will surely guarantee you to lose your money and incur the Wrath of the Lagos State Government for buying a Land that is not supposed to be sold. Today’s set of Unsafe Lands to buy have been carefully chosen after a series of strenuous Land Individual Investigation, Verification and Background  Checks carried out by the Omonile Lawyer Team. They include the…

Arising Land Scam Questions My mail box is filled with thousands of mails regarding Land related issues Omonile Lawyer readers are facing and i would attempt to answer most of them. Majority of these questions consists of  land purchases gone bad , lands bought without  due diligence, people asking me to recommend good lands for them to buy.   Lands that are devoid of wahala or just simply steps to take before they purchase a new land so that they won’t fall victim of Land scam artists. Some cases are serious, some pitiful, some down right hilarious and some frightening….

One of the gravest mistakes Land purchasers make when they buy a Land in Lagos or Ogun is lack of planning to take possession of the land they paid a hefty sum for. We get emotionally attached to the location, the seller and the cost of the land  without considering the fact that this is Lagos or Ogun.   Where these wicked and Dangerous Land Fraudsters have no ounce of Human sympathy when it comes to defrauding innocent land buyers because we fail to take the first and most important step which is securing the land.   75% of land cases…

What to ask yourself?   What if you are already a victim of Omonile and you have already being been defrauded off the land you saved Millions of Naira to purchase or you just discovered that your land has been sold to 2 or more people, or the documents that you possess concerning the title to that land has been discovered to be forged or fraudulent, or you have left your land unattended to after you bought it and the day you decide to go and clear the grass you see another person has started foundation work on your land…

The Answer to the above question can be deduced from this True Story and please read carefully so that you learn from this issue:   Short Story…   A friend of mine from my University days decided to buy a land at Aboru around the Iyana paja side of Lagos and they were selling the land to him for around N1.8Million or so. Now he had N1 Million in cash and was so desperate to get a land.   So he contacted an agent who introduced him to the Seller and the Baale of that area. They told him that…

QUESTION   I AM INTERESTED IN BUYING IN A LAND NOW IN LAGOS, WHAT STEPS SHOULD BE TAKEN TO PROTECT MYSELF FROM FALLING VICTIM TO LAND FRAUDSTERS AND GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS?     ANSWER   Follow these simple steps judiciously:   1a. Visit the land personally after you have signified interest to buy the land from the Agent. Never buy a land without viewing it yourself or through your trusted representatives. It’s your land so you must know what you want to buy.   1b. If your abroad make sure it’s someone you trust that has no vested interest in that…

I get a lot of emails from prospective buyers asking me how to avoid buying defective lands from Omoniles in Lagos and Ogun States that they are about to pay for and steps to take to avoid being victims of these Land Swindlers.   Unfortunately, there is no clear cut textbook template on how to prevent land fraudsters from duping you because each land transaction has its own peculiar issue that must be studied dutifully with rapt attention to avoid being scammed.   So pay attention to these 8 quick hidden signs that a prospective buyer must pay special interest…

ANSWER   To be honest this is a very tricky question but from my experience I would say NO. Because we live in a society where land fraud is very prevalent. It’s even more difficult to proceed with a land investigation when the Owner isn’t available talk less of paying money to someone you cannot ascertain.   Follow these steps… But if you are still determined to still go ahead with the transaction make sure you follow these tips so you won’t be defrauded:   A. Continue to pester the agent or the seller why can’t he come over to…