He Went Abroad, She Sold The Land: The Legal Risks Of Buying Property From A Spouse
Can a Wife Sell Her Husband’s Land? What Nigerian Law Says
A husband travels abroad. An urgent financial need arises at home. His wife identifies one of his plots of land, finds a buyer and completes what appears to be a legitimate transaction.
The buyer pays the agreed price. Documents are signed. Possession may even change hands.
Months later, the husband returns and rejects the transaction.
“I never authorised the sale,” he says.
That scenario raises a question that regularly arises in property transactions: does marriage give a wife the legal authority to sell land belonging to her husband?
Under Nigerian property and agency law, the answer cannot be determined simply by asking whether the seller is the owner’s wife.
Marriage, by itself, does not ordinarily make one spouse the agent of the other for purposes of disposing of individually owned land. Where one person purports to sell another person’s property, the critical issue is authority.
Nigerian case law has emphasised that an agent who is to transfer an interest in land must have appropriate written authority. In Edosa v Ehimenwma & Ors (2022), for example, the Court of Appeal stressed the importance of written authority where an agent sells property belonging to another person.
That distinction can determine whether a seemingly completed land transaction survives a legal challenge.
Marriage Is Not the Same as Agency
The starting point is ownership.
If a particular parcel of land belongs exclusively to the husband, the fact that he is married does not, without more, establish that his wife has authority to dispose of his interest in it.
A spouse may have rights arising from the applicable matrimonial, customary or family-property regime, depending on the circumstances. But those rights should not automatically be confused with an authority to execute a sale on behalf of the registered or recognised owner.
Agency is different.
An agent acts for a principal because the principal has granted authority, whether expressly or in circumstances recognised by law. A wife who wishes to sell her husband’s individually owned land therefore needs to establish the legal basis on which she is acting for him.
That basis may include a Power of Attorney or another legally sufficient authorisation.
What a Power of Attorney Does
A Power of Attorney is essentially an instrument through which one person, the principal, authorises another person, the attorney or agent, to perform specified acts on the principal’s behalf.
However, the existence of a document called a “Power of Attorney” is not necessarily the end of the inquiry.
Its terms matter.
Nigerian courts have held that powers granted to an agent must be interpreted according to the authority actually conferred. An authority to manage property is not automatically the same as an authority to sell it.
The Supreme Court has also recognised that a Power of Attorney is not itself an instrument transferring or alienating land. Rather, it delegates authority to the agent to act for the person who owns or controls the relevant interest.
Consequently, if a husband gives his wife authority to collect rent, supervise tenants or manage a property, that does not necessarily mean she can sell the property.
The authority to sell should be clear.
The Scope of the Authority Matters
Consider a Power of Attorney that authorises a wife to manage a husband’s property.
She subsequently sells the property.
The husband challenges the transaction.
The court may have to examine the exact language of the document.
Was she authorised to sell?
Was she authorised to execute the relevant documents?
Was the particular property covered?
Was she authorised to receive the purchase money?
Were there conditions attached to the authority?
These questions can become decisive.
The courts have repeatedly treated agency authority in property transactions as a matter requiring careful examination. In Edosa v Ehimenwma, the court referred to the principle that an agent transferring title on behalf of a principal should be appointed by deed and that an agent cannot dispose of an interest in land without appropriate written authority.
Therefore, a prospective purchaser should not rely merely on a seller’s assertion that the owner “sent” her.
What Happens When There Is No Authority?
The legal risks become substantially greater when the supposed agent has no authority at all.
Suppose a husband owns a plot in Nigeria while living abroad.
His wife, without a Power of Attorney or other legally sufficient authority, negotiates with a purchaser.
She signs documents.
The buyer pays millions of naira.
The purchaser assumes that the transaction is complete because the seller is the owner’s wife.
The husband later challenges the sale.
The purchaser may now face a dispute over whether the person who purported to sell the land had the authority to do so.
Payment alone does not cure every defect in title.
A receipt may prove that money changed hands. It does not necessarily prove that the seller had the legal authority to transfer the owner’s interest.
Nigerian appellate decisions have consequently warned prospective purchasers to exercise due diligence when dealing with agents or persons purporting to act for property owners.
The Land Use Act Adds Another Layer
Authority to sell is only one part of the legal picture.
Land transactions in Nigeria can also be subject to statutory requirements governing the alienation of rights of occupancy.
Section 22 of the Land Use Act provides that the holder of a statutory right of occupancy cannot alienate that right or part of it by assignment, mortgage, transfer of possession, sublease or otherwise without the required consent of the Governor.
Section 21 deals with customary rights of occupancy and provides for the relevant approval requirements, including the role of the appropriate local government in specified circumstances.
The implication is important.
Even where a wife has been properly authorised by her husband, the parties may still have to comply with the statutory and registration requirements applicable to the particular land.
A Power of Attorney does not automatically eliminate those requirements.
A Buyer Must Investigate the Seller’s Authority
This is where the issue becomes particularly important for purchasers.
Someone offering land for sale may say:
“My husband is abroad.”
“He asked me to sell it.”
“We are legally married.”
“My husband cannot come back now, but everything is fine.”
Those statements may explain why the owner is absent. They do not, by themselves, establish legal authority.
A prudent purchaser should investigate the seller’s authority and the title to the property.
Depending on the transaction, the investigation may include examining the title documents, confirming the identity of the owner, checking the relevant land registry, reviewing the Power of Attorney where an agent is involved, verifying its scope and ensuring that the required consents and registration procedures are satisfied.
The precise due-diligence requirements can vary according to the location and nature of the property.
Why Written Authority Matters
The insistence on written authority serves a practical purpose.
Land is valuable. Transactions can involve substantial sums. A person who buys property from someone who lacks authority may face years of litigation even after paying the full purchase price.
Written authority creates evidence of the principal’s instructions.
It can identify the agent.
It can identify the property.
It can specify the powers granted.
It can also establish limitations on those powers.
That evidence becomes particularly important where the owner later denies authorising the transaction.
The Difference Between Authority & Ownership
Another common misunderstanding is to assume that a person holding a Power of Attorney becomes the owner of the property.
That is not what a Power of Attorney ordinarily does.
The Supreme Court has described a Power of Attorney as an instrument that delegates powers to the attorney to act in the position of the donor. It is not, by itself, the instrument that transfers the land.
Thus, a wife may be authorised to sell her husband’s property without becoming its owner.
Likewise, the mere possession of a Power of Attorney does not mean that every transaction involving the property is automatically valid.
The agent must remain within the authority granted.
The Practical Answer
So, can a wife sell her husband’s land because he has travelled abroad?
Not merely because she is his wife.
She may be able to sell it where she has valid authority from the owner and the transaction complies with the applicable legal requirements.
Without such authority, the fact of marriage does not, by itself, turn her into the husband’s agent for purposes of selling his individually owned land.
For buyers, the lesson is equally important.
Do not ask only, “Is she the owner’s wife?”
Ask instead:
Who owns the land?
What document proves that ownership?
What authority does the seller have to act for the owner?
Does that authority expressly cover a sale?
Have the applicable statutory and registration requirements been satisfied?
Those questions can prevent a transaction from becoming a much more expensive legal dispute.
Land purchases should therefore be treated as legal transactions requiring proper due diligence, not simply as private agreements based on trust, family relationships or verbal assurances.
