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The AG said this at a stakeholders’ meeting on Land Use Act (Title Documentation) 2012, held at the Government Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, recently.
He said that from the commencement of the regulations, anyone caught giving false information to obtain the Governor’s Consent would be jailed for one year when convicted.
“The offence is punishable under section 96 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State and the offender is liable on conviction to one year imprisonment. Forgery is also another offence if it is established that documents have been falsified,” he disclosed.
Ipaye decried the high rate at which people falsified documents to obtain land titles and others, saying that such cases occurred on daily basis at the state’s land registry.
“Many applicants for Certificate of Occupancy apply, using receipts or other documents which are backdated or forged to create the impression that their transactions predated the Act in 1978.
“It is an attempt to circumvent the provisions of the Land Use Act by giving the appearance that the land was vested in the applicants prior to the enactment of the Land Use Act in 1978. The applicants thus claim to be entitled to a statutory right of occupancy issued by the Governor and evidenced by a Certificate of Occupancy.
“This practice constitutes criminal infraction of the law as it is an offence to forge documents, punishable under section 363 of Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011; supply false information to public officials with intent to deceive, punishable under section 96 of Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011; it also inhibits government’s efforts to promote certainty and proper documentation of land titles and to establish a comprehensive and reliable database of landed properties in Lagos,” he stated.
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