Power of Attorney for Nigerian Real Estate: What It Actually Covers and Exactly Where It Fails You

What a Power of Attorney Actually Is in Nigerian Property Law

A power of attorney, or POA, is a legal instrument by which one person, called the donor or principal, authorises another person, called the attorney or donee, to act on their behalf in specified legal and financial matters. In Nigerian real estate, it is most commonly used when a property owner is abroad, incapacitated, or otherwise unavailable to personally execute a transaction. It is not a title document. That distinction matters enormously.

The legal basis for POA use in Nigerian real estate sits primarily under the Powers of Attorney Act, the Land Use Act of 1978, and relevant state-level property laws. In Lagos, the Office of the Lagos State Land Registry has specific requirements before a POA-executed deed of assignment will be recognised. Ogun State has its own framework, particularly around land in government schemes along the Sagamu-Ore road corridor.

Before you proceed with any transaction involving a POA, get the original document in hand and verify it was executed before a Notary Public or Commissioner for Oaths. That is the baseline. Do not accept a photocopy as confirmation of authenticity.

The 3 Things a Valid POA Can Legitimately Do in a Property Deal

When properly drafted and executed, a POA for real estate in Nigeria can accomplish 3 core things on behalf of a principal:

• Execute a deed of assignment or contract of sale, transferring interest in land from seller to buyer when the seller cannot be physically present
• Apply for and collect government consents, including Governor's Consent under the Land Use Act, and process registration at the state land registry on behalf of either party
• Receive purchase payments, sign receipts, and bind the principal to the financial terms of a concluded transaction

These are real, enforceable powers when the document is properly constituted. I have closed transactions in Ikorodu and in Mowe where the seller was based in the United Kingdom and the POA allowed the deal to proceed cleanly. The key word is properly. A POA that does not specify the property by address and plot number, or that grants vague general authority without naming the transaction, will be challenged at the registry and likely rejected.

Where a POA Fails: The Specific Scenarios That Destroy Deals

This is the section most people need and most articles skip. A power of attorney for property in Nigeria fails in predictable, documented ways. Knowing them in advance is how you avoid becoming a case study.

The first failure point is the death of the donor. Under Nigerian law, a POA is automatically revoked upon the death of the principal unless it is an irrevocable POA tied to a legal interest. If you are in the middle of completing a transaction and the seller dies, a general POA held by their agent becomes void immediately. I have seen this scenario in a transaction near the Lekki-Epe corridor where a buyer had paid 60% of the purchase price and the principal died before Governor's Consent was obtained. The family disputed the deal and litigation followed.

The second failure point is the mental incapacity of the donor. Nigerian courts have voided POA-executed property transactions where the donor was subsequently shown to have lacked capacity at the time of execution. This is a particular risk in estate sales involving elderly landowners in places like Ibadan's Bodija and Jericho where family land disputes are already common.

The third failure point is fraud by the attorney. The POA grants power, not oversight. An attorney who executes a transaction for personal gain, sells to multiple buyers, or accepts a bribe to alter terms has technically acted outside the POA scope, but recovering your money and your land from that situation is a legal battle that can run 3 to 7 years in Nigerian courts. Prevention is the only real protection.

The fourth failure point is an irrevocable POA used as a title substitute. This is the most dangerous and widespread practice in Nigerian real estate today. Sellers who cannot obtain proper title documents offer buyers an irrevocable POA and call it a substitute for a deed. It is not. An irrevocable POA does not transfer ownership. It grants authority to act. If that distinction is ever tested in court, the buyer who thought they owned the land will discover they hold a power, not a title.

The Irrevocable POA Trap: Why So Many Buyers in Emerging Corridors Are Exposed

In the early days of land sales along the Mowe-Ibafo corridor, plots that sold for 500,000 naira in 2015 and 2016 now command between 3 and 5 million naira in 2026. A significant portion of those early buyers received irrevocable POAs instead of registered deeds of assignment. At the time, prices were low and buyers were less demanding. Today, as those same buyers try to resell or develop, they are discovering that banks will not finance buyers against a POA-held property and that the Lagos and Ogun State land registries will not process title upgrade without the original vendor's cooperation.

The irrevocable POA was sold to buyers as security because the word irrevocable sounds permanent. But irrevocable refers to the donor's inability to cancel the POA unilaterally. It does not mean the property is legally yours. Courts in Nigeria have consistently held that ownership requires a deed of conveyance or assignment, not a POA.

If you are holding an irrevocable POA on a piece of land right now, your immediate action is to instruct a property lawyer to initiate a deed of ratification or to commence the perfection process with a fresh deed executed by the original vendor or their estate. Do not wait for the situation to become urgent before you act.

How to Use a POA Correctly When You Have No Other Option

Sometimes a POA is the only practical instrument available, especially in diaspora-driven transactions where the principal is legitimately abroad. Using a POA for land purchase in Nigeria does not have to be dangerous if you follow a strict process:

1. Verify the POA is specific: it must name the exact property, the transaction type, the authorised attorney by full legal name, and the financial limits of their authority
2. Confirm the POA was executed before a Notary Public if the donor is abroad, or before a Commissioner for Oaths if they are in Nigeria, and that it carries appropriate stamps and registration
3. Run a search at the relevant land registry independently, not through the attorney, before any funds change hands
4. Insist that the deed of assignment references the POA and is executed in the same transaction window, not weeks later
5. Process Governor's Consent and registration immediately after execution, not months later, because delays increase exposure to intervening events including the donor's death or change of mind

The goal is to use the POA as a bridge to a properly registered title, not as a destination. The moment the transaction closes, begin the perfection process.

POA vs Deed of Assignment vs Governor's Consent: Understanding the Hierarchy

Nigerian buyers often treat these 3 instruments as interchangeable or sequential options. They are not. They form a hierarchy, and your security increases at each level. The POA authorises someone to act. The deed of assignment transfers the legal interest. Governor's Consent, required under Section 22 of the Land Use Act for statutory right of occupancy land, perfects and legitimises that transfer in the eyes of the state.

Without Governor's Consent, even a properly executed deed of assignment is an incomplete title. The state technically retains the right to challenge an unconsented transfer. This is not theoretical. The Lagos State Government has in the past moved against properties along the Lekki corridor where titles were not properly perfected, particularly as infrastructure development expanded.

Your target is always the fully perfected title: survey plan, deed of assignment, Governor's Consent, and registration at the land registry. Every document below that on the hierarchy is a risk, and the POA sits at the very base of that hierarchy. Know where you are in the chain and work relentlessly toward the top.

What to Do Before Signing Anything Involving a POA

Before you commit funds to any transaction where the seller's interest is represented by a power of attorney, complete these checks without exception:

• Obtain a certified true copy of the POA from the relevant registry or notarial record, not just the copy the agent hands you
• Confirm the donor is alive and confirm this independently. A quick video call with the donor, witnessed by your lawyer, is acceptable due diligence in 2026
• Check that the POA has not been previously revoked by conducting a search at the registry where it was registered
• Confirm that no other transaction has been executed under the same POA by conducting a title search on the specific property
• Engage your own independent property lawyer. Not the seller's lawyer. Not the agent's recommended lawyer. Your own.

These steps cost you between 50,000 and 150,000 naira in professional fees depending on the complexity of the transaction. They can save you 5 million, 15 million, or more. There is no version of this equation where skipping due diligence makes financial sense.

Key takeaways

• Never accept a POA as a substitute for a deed of assignment. A POA authorises action. A deed transfers ownership. They are not the same instrument and Nigerian courts will treat them differently.
• If you are holding an irrevocable POA on land in Mowe, Ibafo, or anywhere along the emerging corridors, engage a property lawyer immediately to convert it to a registered deed before your situation becomes a legal crisis.
• Always verify that the donor of a POA is alive and mentally capable before funds are released. The death of the donor voids a general POA automatically under Nigerian law, regardless of how much money has changed hands.
• Target the complete title hierarchy: survey plan, deed of assignment, Governor's Consent, and land registry registration. Any transaction that stops short of this leaves you exposed, regardless of the documents you hold.
• Run your own independent title search at the state land registry on any property where a POA is involved. Do not rely on searches conducted by parties with a financial interest in closing the deal.