The purpose of the Illiterate Protection Laws is to shield/protect an illiterate person from possible fraud (in land transactions, and any other legal transaction). An illiterate person is one who lacks the ability to read, write or understand a particular document.
The Illiterate Protection Act applies to the Federal Capital Territory while different states have their own Illiterate Protection Laws.
The position of the law is that when doing a transaction with an illiterate person (possibly in a real estate transaction), the content of the document transferring land ownership from him/her to you, must be read and explained to him/her. Such document should have in it a clause called Illiterate Jurat. The Jurat shows that the illiterate person has been made to understand the content of the documents before he signed it.
Furthermore, the Jurat must provide for the details of the person who explained the contents of the document to him. Where the Jurat is absent in a conveyance document, it could vitiate (destroy the legal validity) of the conveyance.
It was stated in the case of Itauma Vs Akpe-Ime as follows “Nevertheless, in the absence of an Illiterate Jurat, where there are evidences to show that the content of the conveyance documents where read and interpreted to the maker, the conveyance will still be valid as held in the case of Edokpolo Vs Ohenhen”.
So, in practice, if you are buying plots of land from rural land owners (some of whom might be illiterates), ensure that the conveyancing document transferring the ownership of land to you has an illiterate jurat, so that the transaction can be valid.
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