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 can be traced to trespass on empty virgin lands because the buyer has happily bought the land but intend to fence or commence work on the land at a later date. These evil Land Swindlers secretly patrol these vacant lands and once they see a land without any form of protection, they immediately work out modalities with their hence men to market and re sell the land to other unsuspecting buyers who would easily believe the land is a virgin land.

Word of Advice

Personally i have lost 3 lands in the past because i wasn't buoyant enough to both buy a land and fence it at the same time and i hoped the land would still be waiting for me after 4 months of purchase but three times consecutively my lands were re-sold to different people and it put me at odds with these trespassers for years.

 

With this in mind, i would advise you on the steps to take to take possession immediately so you don't suffer the same fates i experienced.

1. Before you buy any land, please check your pockets very well. Land Transaction in Lagos or Ogun has so many K-Legs and hidden fees to make you run mad but if you prepare yourself in advance it would be a piece of cake for you. Please Budget appropriately.

2. Know the cost of  conducting a search on the land, the amount the land goes for, the agency fees, the legal fees, cost of doing a survey plan, the cost of signing your documents, the cost the family would collect for signing your form 1c and issuing you a receipt, the cost of fencing in advance, clearing the land, cost of settling the omoniles and foundation fees.

Most of all these fees are negotiable and once you have a good price, act swiftly and pay for all these things to clear yourself from any future issue. Delay in Land transaction is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS because once the seller (s) or Omoniles have exhausted the money and you haven't sorted out most of the things i have listed above, that's when the devil would begin to play tricks with their minds to make life difficult for you and prevent you from taking possession.

3. Once payment has been made and the lawyer has executed your documents in your favour, meet the seller or Omonile and engage them in future deals to help clear the bush or supply materials for the construction of the fence.

This effectively makes them interested parties in the protection of your land from future trespassers or land robbers and you have an official night guard to watch your land because they are benefiting indirectly. Make sure you have small pocket change to share for the street urchins or community youths so that they are also aware of the fence construction.

Buy Hot drinks for the community elders and package small brown envelopes for the Area fathers so they know you exist and can act as witnesses ón your behalf in case there is any marauder or wahala person trying to lay claim to the land.

4. Make sure you are given a FAMILY RECEIPT in the name of the Family. The Family COMPOUND NAME and ADDRESS should be on the Receipt to show proof of payment tomorrow for the land.

Most communal land sellers or Omoniles are not too learnered so the only thing they recognize is the Family Receipt above all other documents in proving ownership of a land in case there is a quagmire on that land tomorrow.

5. It doesn't matter whether you make your fence as high as Aso Rock's own or with just 2 or 3 layers of block. The most important thing is that even a blind man would know somebody has started work on this land and it belongs to someone else other than the seller or Omonile.

Also endeavor to take pictures or videos when you are constructing the fence to act as evidence tomorrow. Make sure you include the Sellers, Omoniles and Area fathers in the pictures so that they would either act as credible witnesses for you or you can use it against them if they feign ignorance.

Take Possession of your land immediately by fencing it to prevent Omoniles from stealing your land

6. Even if Government people come to your land to disturb you for Building Plan or Governor's consent proof, tell them to Buzz off because you would still process your papers because a Governors consent alone would not prevent these land fraudsters from re-selling your land without any form of physical protection.

7. If possible build a small gate man house there at the edge of the fence to show that someone is occupying it. If you can afford it, hire a night watch man to man the property for you. His job is to alert and ward off any intruder on that land while he uses the land to graze.

8. Once you have constructed your fence to an appreciable stage please commence the processing of your Land documents immediately. The documents you obtain from the government coupled with the Fence would help you protect the land further away from Land Scammers.

Even though you have built a fence, please try to visit your land regularly. If you leave it unattended for a very long time, you would only invite these thieves you have spent so much to avoid.

Let them know you can visit your land at any given time and when you visit, tip the locals to give you more information about your land and what is going on in the community that affects you too.

These are some of the steps you should take to protect your land and take possession. It makes no sense to buy a land and fail to protect it after spending Millions to obtain it. You would spend x2 to regain it back. Prevention is better than cure.