Through the Backdoor, Dressed in Borrowed Robes: The Use of Power of Attorney for the Transfer of Interest in Land in Nigeria

Abstract

Whether a power of attorney qualifies as an instrument for the transfer of interest in land in Nigeria, thereby necessitating the consent of the Governor before any such transfer, has become a thorny issue.  Attempts to proffer an authentic answer to this question have sharply polarized scholars and stakeholders. This article is of the view that a power of attorney, by its nature, does not have the legal capacity to be used in transferring interests in land and posits that the current practice whereby documents of actual conveyance are masked as powers of attorney in order to escape the statutory requirement for governor’s consent before alienation of interest in land amounts to gaining entrance into a premises through the back door, dressed in borrowed robes.