Can a foreigner buy property in Nigeria?

Under the Land Use Act all land is vested in the governor of the state, who grants a right of occupancy. A foreigner can obtain one, but cannot hold the land in the way a freehold owner would.

A building can often be owned separately from the land it stands on, and flats in towns are often easier for a foreigner to buy than land. Check the title for both.

A company registered locally can often hold land that a foreign individual cannot, but many countries limit foreign ownership of the company, or treat a company with foreign shareholders as foreign.

• Whether a foreigner can hold land, and for how long, depends on the type of land: registered title, a lease from the state, or customary land.

• In much of Africa most land is held under customary tenure, or belongs to the state or to a community, and does not have a registered title. A buyer can be sold the same plot twice, or by someone who has no right to sell, so check the title at the land registry, and with the local authority or chief, before paying.
• Registered title, a lease from the state, and customary land are three different things. Ask which one the plot is.

Nigeria belongs to the Common law family. Property is registered and transferred differently in different traditions, so it helps to know how the system works.

Read the Nigeria legal-system profile in the Legal Families Atlas →
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• JuriGlobe, University of Ottawa: world legal systems
• FAO: Land tenure and the land laws of countries (FAOLEX and Land Tenure Journal)
• World Bank: Women, Business and the Law (country data on property rights)