Land title scandal: CFL Group gives Lagos Registry seven-day to act or face N5bn suit

The Group Managing Director of CFL Group of Companies, Lai Omotola has given the Lagos State Land Registry a seven-day ultimatum to rectify land documents allegedly falsified by speculators or face N5 billion legal action.

 Omotola, at a press conference in Lagos on Thursday, raised the alarm over what he described as a sophisticated land fraud practice known as “Land Title Laundry” (LTL).

Omotola alleged that the scheme involved the cloning and manipulation of land documents to create seemingly legitimate titles over valuable properties, particularly in highbrow areas such as Ikoyi and Victoria Island.

He said land title forgery and cloning had persisted in Lagos over the years, with several banks allegedly falling victim to fraudulent Certificates of Occupancy (CofOs) used as collateral for loans.

According to him, some financial institutions only discovered that the documents were fake after the loans secured with the properties had gone into default.

Omotola recalled that during the administration of former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, the Lagos State Government demolished a market opposite the Government House where, according to him, forged Certificates of Occupancy were allegedly produced.

He said, however, that the practice had evolved into a more sophisticated operation because of the huge financial interests involved and the alleged participation of highly placed individuals both within and outside government.

Omotola explained that the alleged “Land Title Laundry” scheme typically begins with the identification of abandoned properties in Ikoyi and Victoria Island, where land values are particularly high.

He alleged that speculators would identify the name of a prominent person who had died and use the person’s identity to establish a fictitious ownership history for the property.

He said they would then allegedly obtain forged land certificates, sometimes backdated to the 1970s when historical records were difficult to trace, before introducing the documents into the official land registry system.

“Once the document is ready, they have staff in Alausa working in Land Registry that will insert the documents into the system. Immediately this is achieved, the title document will automatically become the original,” Omotola alleged.

He said the alleged perpetrators would subsequently declare the supposed original document lost, obtain a police affidavit and proceed to register a Governor’s Consent, thereby creating the impression that the property had been legitimately transferred.

Omotola stressed that a Certificate of Occupancy was different from a Governor’s Consent, saying the distinction was important for property owners and prospective investors to understand.

He explained that a Lagos State Certificate of Occupancy involves the government allocating land and granting a title, while a Governor’s Consent represents the Governor’s approval of a transaction between individuals or entities.

Omotola said the issuance of a Governor’s Consent did not automatically cure defects in the underlying title, adding that such consent could be cancelled if subsequent investigations established forgery or misrepresentation in the documents submitted.

He said his warning was informed by an experience involving his company and a property located at 24 Adeola Odeku Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Omotola said his company purchased the property and commenced construction before another company allegedly arrived with police officers and sealed the premises, claiming ownership based on a Governor’s Consent.

He said the opposing party claimed that the original owner of the land was Samuel Oladele Ige, who allegedly sold it to the late Alhaji Ganiyu Amusan, the father of businessman Tayo Amusan.

Omotola said his company investigated the purported chain of ownership and visited the family of Samuel Ige, whom he identified as the younger brother of the late former Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Bola Ige.

He said the family informed them that Samuel Ige died in 2012, making it impossible for him to have sold the property in 2015.

Omotola added that the family also said there was nothing in Ige’s will indicating that he owned a property at 24 Adeola Odeku Street.

He said further investigation into the claim involving Alhaji Ganiyu Amusan showed that he died in 1994, making it equally impossible for him to have purchased the property in 2015.

Omotola said the investigation also uncovered a police affidavit purportedly sworn by Samuel Ige in 2015 declaring that his original land certificate had been lost.

He said Ige’s first son, Niyi, disputed the authenticity of the affidavit, alleging that the photograph and signature on the document were not those of his late father.

He further alleged that a letter of objection purportedly written by Samuel Ige before the release of the Governor’s Consent was received by the Land Registry on September 1, 2015, three years after his death.

Omotola said the Ige family subsequently petitioned the Land Registry, which, according to him, found merit in the allegations and invited the beneficiaries of the disputed Governor’s Consent for proceedings that could lead to its deregistration.

He alleged that the beneficiaries failed to honour the invitation on two occasions and instead continued construction on the property while allegedly relying on security agencies.

Omotola said the affected landowners were demanding that the disputed consent be deregistered and the land documents corrected to reflect the legitimate ownership of the property.

He warned that failure by the Land Registry to act within seven days would compel the affected landowners to approach the courts, where they would seek N5 billion in damages.

Omotola insisted that the landowners were not beneficiaries of corruption within the system, stressing that they were seeking protection for legitimately acquired properties and accountability in the administration of land records.

He called on the Lagos State Government to investigate the alleged manipulation of land documents and strengthen the land registry system to prevent fraudulent titles from being introduced into official records.