The distinction between a Certificate of Occupancy and a Deed of Assignment stems from their distinct characteristics and roles in the acquisition of title to landed properties in Nigeria.

 Certificate of Occupancy 

A Certificate of Occupancy is a government-issued document that grants a person, a group of individuals, or a corporation possession and right of occupancy in a certain piece of land for all purposes for a period of 99 years.

Section 9 of the Land Use Act 1978 empowers the State Governor of the State of Nigeria, where the land is situated, to grant a certificate of occupancy. The Section provides that "it shall be lawful for the Governor if a person is entitled to a statutory right of occupancy; the issue of a Certificate shall be accompanied by proof of that right of occupancy."

One of the distinct features of the Certificate of Occupancy is that no land in Nigeria can carry two Certificates of Occupancy because it is the first document given on land, whether bare or built, which has never been recorded in the Land Registry.

The land on which the C of O is published shall, first, be chartered by the Office of the Surveyor-General of the State or the Federation of Federal Lands. The essence of plotting the land is to decide if it is free from any acquisition by the government.

Deed of Assignment/ Conveyance

An act is an important land document performed by the parties to a land agreement to pass unexpired land interest to another. Upon conclusion of a land exchange between the purchaser and the seller of the land, the Deed of Assignment shall be executed in favor of the Assigned to prove the transfer of the unexpired residue of the land by the Assignor to the Assigned, and the Deed shall be recorded in the Land Registry to complete the perfection of the land.

Documentation acts as the penultimate episode between the parts of a land transaction until the Assignee (buyer) has made full payment and the Assignor has recognized it as such (seller). It shall include information on the party involved in the sale, the full description of the property, the consideration paid by the buyer, the history of the property (which can be derived from a Certificate of Occupancy), and its signature.

The Buyer must complete three stages for perfecting the title to complete the title conveyed by a deed of assignment;

1. Obtain the consent of the Governor, 

2. Obtain the consent of the Governor, 

3. Registration of the Conveyancing Document

The completion of the above steps gives the buyer of the property preference over any subsequent ownership claim on the land.

Juxtapositions between the certificate of occupancy  and Deed of Assignment 

The State Governor or Government shall grant a Certificate of Occupancy in respect of new land and sign the Governor. A Deed of Assignment shall be an agreement negotiated by the lawyer of the appointed party (buyer), and the parties shall conclude an agreement on the payment, and the terms and conditions shall be accepted only by the Governor in order to improve the title.

A Certificate of Occupancy is issued by the State Government for a period of 99 years from the C of O's commencement date, while a Deed of Assignment has no new 99-year term since the title starts on the date the unexpired interest in the property was transferred.

A Deed of Assignment must be registered at the Land Registry to show legal proof of an exchange of ownership of title in the land and to inform the public that the land is encumbered, while a Certificate of Occupancy indicates that the landowner has been given a right of occupancy by the State Government where the land is situated.

A Deed of Assignment is the crucial document used by a land seller and a buyer to prove ownership in the seller's favor, while a Certificate of Occupancy merely states that the holder has exclusive possession of the land.

The Governor of the State in which the land is situated issues a Certificate of Occupancy, which allows persons, groups of individuals, or companies to hold, use, and occupy the land for 99 years. A Certificate of Occupancy is issued under Section 9 (2) of the Land Use Act, while a Deed of Assignment is issued in a land transaction where a buyer sells his residual interest in land to another without any reversionary interest.

Section 28 of the Act allows the Governor to revoke a Certificate of Occupancy issued on land for reasons of overriding public interest, whereas a Deed of Assignment cannot be revoked; only the Governor's consent granted upon the perfection of the Deed can be revoked.

Finally, a Certificate of Occupancy is not a good root of title, especially if there are other existing interests on the property, whereas a Deed of Assignment serves as a proper root of title

Conclusively, both the Certificate of Occupancy and the Deed of Assignment are legal ways to obtain title and ownership to land in Nigeria. As a result, a buyer of the land who relies on these documents as his root of title must thoroughly investigate both documents, which are services we offer here at the Firma Advisory.