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The short answer
Empty land is most at risk from encroachment and resale, so secure it in three layers: legal (perfect your title and keep the survey beacons intact), physical (a fence or at least a perimeter wall with a gate and signboard) and human (a caretaker or neighbour who visits and reports). In Lagos, the Property Protection Law makes demanding levies to allow building, and refusing to leave land you have encroached on, offences. Fencing costs depend on perimeter and materials; get itemised quotes and pay a contractor in stages against dated photographs.
Buyers abroad often leave land empty for years while they save to build. That is when it is most exposed: beacons go missing, a neighbour's wall creeps over, or someone sells it again to a buyer who starts building quickly. Securing land is not one job but several, and the cheapest of them, keeping the paperwork in order, protects more than the most expensive.
Layer one: the legal fence
- Perfect your title. Registration gives your instrument priority and notice to the world, as Legal500's note on Lagos explains. An unregistered deed leaves room for a later buyer. See registering a deed of assignment from the US.
- Keep survey records. A copy of the registered survey plan with coordinates lets a surveyor re-establish missing beacons.
- Pay land charges. In Lagos, unpaid Land Use Charge is a debt on the property; see Land Use Charge for owners abroad.
- Know your records. Keep receipts, survey, deed and consent in one place, with scans held outside Nigeria.
Layer two: the physical fence
Options, in rising order of cost:
| Measure | What it does | Weakness |
|---|---|---|
| Concrete beacons re-set by a surveyor | Marks the corners on the ground | Can be pulled up |
| Signboard with your name and "not for sale" | Warns buyers and agents | Easily removed |
| Perimeter blocks to a low height | Shows the land is owned and occupied | Can be climbed or breached |
| Full fence wall with gate | Controls access | Highest cost; may need approval in some areas |
| Small gatehouse or caretaker's room | Somebody is physically there | Ongoing cost and supervision |
Ask your contractor or the local planning office whether a fence wall needs approval in your area. Lagos enforces building approvals closely: in July 2024 it revoked all commencement certifications and ordered revalidation, according to Peoples Gazette. If you are in an estate, the estate's rules may also govern fences and gates; see estate rules and fees.
Building in stages as security
Some owners decide that the best protection is to start building, even slowly. A foundation or a single storey shows occupation in a way a fence does not. It also brings new obligations: building approvals, a contractor to supervise and money tied up in an unfinished structure. If you take this route, get approvals first, budget for security on site while work is paused, and pay for each stage only against certified progress. A half-built structure without approval can be sealed or demolished, which would cost you more than the land is worth to protect. Many owners choose a fence and a caretaker first and build only when they can finish.
Layer three: people
A caretaker who lives near the land, or a neighbour who visits weekly, is often the first to notice trouble. Agree in writing what they do (visit, photograph, report), what you pay, and that they have no authority to sell or let. Ask for dated photos every month.
What the Lagos law says
The Lagos State Property Protection Law 2016, as summarised by LawPavilion, makes it an offence to demand a fee or levy for construction or to obstruct works, with a fine of up to ₦1 million, two years' imprisonment or both, except for a family head's customary fee for possession or a fee under a court judgment. An encroacher who refuses to leave faces up to ₦5 million or five years. Forceful takeover of land can attract up to ten years. Petitions to the task force need a sworn declaration. Outside Lagos, the police and the courts are the usual route, and Ogun has its own anti-land-grabbing law.
A worked budget
Example only, prices invented for illustration; get current quotes. Tola in Houston has a 30 m by 20 m plot in Ogun. The perimeter is 2 × (30 + 20) = 100 m. Her contractor quotes per metre for a block wall to a set height, and separately for the gate and beacons:
| Item | Example figure |
|---|---|
| Surveyor to re-set beacons | ₦150,000 |
| Block wall, 100 m at ₦45,000 per metre | ₦4,500,000 |
| Gate | ₦400,000 |
| Signboard | ₦50,000 |
| Total | ₦5,100,000 |
She pays in three stages against dated photos: 40% (₦2,040,000) to start, 40% (₦2,040,000) when the wall reaches full height, and 20% (₦1,020,000) on completion with the gate fixed, which adds up to ₦5,100,000. Contracts for building work are covered in building with a Nigerian contractor from the US.
Where Pryme fits
Stage payments and a monthly caretaker fee are regular naira payments. A Pryme account opened from the US holds naira and dollars, Swap shows the rate and fee before you approve, and the Personal Assistant can prepare the caretaker payment each month for you to approve.
Questions people ask
How do I protect my land in Nigeria while abroad?
Perfect and register your title, keep survey beacons in place, fence or at least mark the land, and have a caretaker or neighbour visit and report regularly.
Is it illegal for omo onile to demand money before I build in Lagos?
The Lagos Property Protection Law makes demanding a fee or levy for construction an offence, except a family head's customary fee for possession or a court-ordered fee.
How much does it cost to fence a plot in Nigeria?
It depends on perimeter, materials, height and location. Measure the perimeter, get itemised quotes per metre and pay in stages.
Do I need approval to fence land in Lagos?
Ask the local planning office or your contractor. Lagos enforces building approvals, and estates have their own fence rules.
Sources
- Legal500 (Tope Adebayo LP): Perfecting title to land in Lagos (undated) · accessed Oct 2026
- LawPavilion: Lagos State Property Protection Law 2016 (28 Sep 2016) · accessed Oct 2026
- Peoples Gazette: Lagos revokes all building permits, owners directed to reapply (Jul 2024) · accessed Oct 2026
- Brand Spur: Ogun cautions against buying unauthenticated land (21 Feb 2018) · accessed Oct 2026
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