REGISTRATION OF TITLE UNDER THE NIGERIA LAW

Registration of Titles Act of 1935, now Registration of Titles Law of Lagos State Cap R.4, 2003.  This law was introduced to correct the inadequacies in the registration of instrument Act of 1924, now known as the Registration of Instrument Laws of the various states.  The basic principle of the Registration of Titles law is that ownership of title to land is based on the fact of registration, that is, it operates to register dealings and transactions over titles in land when such titles have been registered.

The Governor of the State may by order apply the Law to any area in the State. Any such area is referred to as a registration district. The Governor may also from time to time by order, alter the boundaries of any such registration district or may by order, abolish any such district – section 2 of Registration of Titles Law (RTL).

The object of the law is to substitute a single established title guaranteed by the state for the traditional title which must be separately investigated before purchase. And, must be proved by several documents of title each time the title is in issue. Transactions in respect of registered land such as leases, creation of charges, and transfer of interest in land are also required to be registered.

In the case of registered land, the purchaser can discover from a mere inspection of the register whether the vendor has the power to sell the land and whether or not there are encumbrances on the land that may be investigated. As such, waste of time and resources is avoided since from an inspection of the register, a purchaser would satisfy himself of the title of the vendor and if the vendor has the power to sell the property – Onagoruwa v. Akinremi & Ors (2001) 13 NWLR (Pt. 729) 38.

The law requires that all titles to land within a registration district shall be registered either compulsorily – section 5 of RTL, or voluntarily – section 6 of RTL.

Application for first registration must be made by the grantee within 2 months of the execution of an instrument. Failure to register would render the instrument void with regard to the legal estate granted – Onoshile v. Idowu (1961) 1 ANLR 3.

It should be noted that the registry is private and confidential in the sense that apart from the proprietor or a person authorized by him, other persons do not have the right to investigate the register containing entries on any title except with the express permission of the registered proprietor of the title authorizing them to do so – section 74(2).

The register under section 69 is divided into three namely the property register, proprietorship register, and charges register.

PROPERTY REGISTER

This contains detailed description and gives other information of the property that is registered. There are also specific contents which are required under property register. They are:

        i.            Description of the title with reference to a map or field plan;

      ii.            Notes relating to ownership of mineral;

    iii.            Any exemptions from overriding interests; and

    iv.            Easements, rights privileges, conditions, and covenants for the benefit of the land and other similar matters.

PROPRIETORSHIP REGISTER

This contains the particulars (name, address, and description) of the registered owner (proprietor) of the property. It also contains cautions, inhibitions and restrictions affecting the right of the proprietor to dispose the title.

CHARGES REGISTER

This contains particulars of any charge, mortgage, and encumbrance that may have been created over a particular property. It also contains:

        i.            Encumbrances subsisting at the date of first registration;

      ii.            Subsequent charges and other encumbrances including notices of leases and other notices of adverse interest or claims permitted by law;

    iii.            Notes relating to covenants, conditions, and other rights adversely affecting the land; and

    iv.            Dealings with registered charges and encumbrances which are capable of registration.

The registrar is not under obligation to file any document brought to him but he is entitled before making an entry in the register, to require such evidence of the authenticity of the document to be filed, its due execution, the identity of persons and of the documents or facts giving occasion for the entry as he may think necessary – section 70(1). There is priority of registration and to guarantee priority, the registrar makes note on the date of the receipt of each application, numbers the application serially and if the application is in order, deems it to have been received in numerical order – section 72(1). The registrar on a first registration and on subsequent changes of ownership wherever practicable should enter on the register the declared value or the price paid of the transaction – section 73.

PROCEDURE FOR FIRST REGISTRATION

This can be done through the following:                                   

1.      A person is requested to make an application to the Registrar to be registered as first owner using Form 1 in the Schedule to the law. A declaration on oath may be demanded in Form 3 by the Registrar to the effect that the applicant has made a full disclosure of material facts respecting the land and any sketch of the land.

2.      The title to the land is then investigated by the Registrar – Bucknor-Mclean & Anor. v. Inlaks Ltd. (1980) ANLR 184; Owumi v P. Z. Ltd (1974) 1 All NLR (Pt. 2) 107; section 8(1). The Registrar is entitled to accept and act on legal evidence or evidence ordinarily required by conveyancers – section 9. The power of the Registrar here is confined to the acceptance or refusal of the application for first registration and he is not expected to decide the question as to ownership of title – Majekodunmi v. Abina (2002) FWLR (Pt. 100) 1336 at 1357.

3.      The application must then be advertised by the Registrar at least one in the State Gazette and if he thinks fit, in one or more Nigerian newspapers – section 8(2). Many applications may be included in an advertisement. The Registrar may also serve on any person he deems fit, each occupier of the land and all owners of adjoining land, the application made for registration. Such application may be made in Form 2.

4.      The Registrar waits for a period of two months for any objection to the application for registration. Where an objection is received, the registration will not be made until the person objecting has been given an opportunity of being heard – section 8(4).

5.      If the Registrar is satisfied that the applicant is entitled to be registered after investigation, an applicant will be registered accordingly. Where an interested person fails to object to first registration before the registrar proceeds to register the title his objection is foreclosed – Balogun v Salami (1963) 1 ANLR 129.

Where the Registrar of Titles is not satisfied with the evidence of title, he will dismiss the application for registration.

Grounds for upholding an application for registration are:

1.      The successful proof that the land is family land under customary law or that the applicant has no right or interest in the land – Dania v. Soyenu 13 NLR 143; section 10(1); or

2.      That although not family land, the land is subject to customary law for which the objector has rights of interests, contingent or otherwise in respect of the land – section 10(2).

PROCEDURE FOR INVESTIGATION OF TITLE

To investigate title, the purchaser must approach the Registrar of Title with the following documents:

1.      A letter of consent or authority from the proprietor or a sworn declaration by the solicitor showing that he has consent of the proprietor to investigate the title. The reason for this is that the registry is a private registry not opened to the public. There must hence be authority given to an ‘outsider’ to have access to the registry.

2.      A copy of the land certificate which contains the particulars by which the property will be identified at the lands registry. The particulars the certificate usually contain are:

a)      Title number;

b)      District; and

c)      The property.

3.      A declaration in court by the purchaser to the effect that the proprietor of the title actually granted the permission to conduct searches of the register. This is a requirement imposed in practice to prevent fraud by those who may claim that they have consent of the proprietor when in fact they do not. A declaration may make such persons liable to be charged for perjury.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN REGISTRATION OF TITLE UNDER THE RTL, AND UNDER THE REGISTRATION OF INSTRUMENTS OF LAW

Section 86 (1) of RTL provides that no document affecting registered land executed after registration shall be required to be registered under the Land Instruments Registration Law. This give rises to the following differences:

1.      Property practice is conducted mostly through the use of forms under the titles system unlike the registration of instruments system which requires contracts and deeds.

2.      The registry under the registration of titles system is a private one unlike deeds registry.

3.      Under the registration of titles, a purchaser investigating title must obtain a letter from the proprietor of the title or a sworn declaration from the court that he has the consent and authority of the proprietor to conduct a search. Under the system of registration of instruments, no such authorization is required.

4.      Under the registration of titles system, a registered proprietor is issued a Certificate of Title. The certificate names the owner of the title and he may use the certificate in any matter he deems fit. Under registration of instruments, it is registered title deeds that are issued to an owner of land that has been duly registered.

5.      Title acquired under registration of title system is more reliable and indefeasible than title acquired under deeds. In the deeds system, the State does not guarantee the title of the owner and it is registered subject to all the defects in it but under the titles systems, the registrar investigates title before registration and moves a guarantee on them.

6.      Property practice under the registration of titles system does not require the production of an epitome or abstract of title by a vendor to prove his ownership of land unlike under the system of registration of instruments.
     
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