When someone dies in Lagos - registering the death and what follows

This guide is for the paperwork, which arrives at the worst possible time and does not wait. It covers what has to be done, in the order it usually comes.

The medical certificate of cause of death

When someone dies in a hospital, the doctor issues a medical certificate of cause of death. If they die at home, the doctor who was treating them can issue it; otherwise the body will usually go to a hospital where a doctor confirms the death.

A mortuary will want the certificate before it accepts the body, and every step after this needs it. Ask for several copies.

When the coroner is involved

A death that was sudden, violent, unexplained, in police custody or in circumstances a doctor will not certify is reported to the police, and goes to the coroner under the Lagos State Coroners’ System Law. The coroner may order a post-mortem, and the body is not released for burial until the coroner allows it.

This can take time and it is not optional. A family that buries a body before a death the coroner should have examined can face questions later, and so can any claim on insurance.

Registering the death

Deaths are registered with the NPC, the National Population Commission, under the Births, Deaths etc. (Compulsory Registration) Act 1992, within 60 days. Many hospitals have an NPC registration point; otherwise it is done at an NPC office in the local government area.

Bring the medical certificate, the deceased’s identification — NIN, passport or ID card — and your own. The NPC issues a death certificate, which is what banks, the pension administrator, insurers and the courts will ask for.

Burial often happens before registration, especially for Muslim families, who bury quickly. That is normal; register as soon as you can afterwards.

Bank accounts

Tell each bank in writing, with the death certificate. The bank will freeze the accounts, which protects them, and will release the money only to the person the court appoints to administer the estate — not to the next of kin named on an account form, and not to whoever has the cards.

The pension

The deceased’s RSA is paid out to the named beneficiaries or the estate, not kept by the pension administrator. Contact the PFA with the death certificate. If they were still working, ask the employer about any group life insurance too: employers are required to carry it, and families often never claim.

Your pension and your RSA

The estate: probate and letters of administration

Property, money in banks and shares pass under the authority of the Probate Registry of the Lagos State High Court.

• If there is a will, the executors it names apply for a grant of probate.
• If there is no will, a family member applies for letters of administration, and the estate is shared under the law that applies to the deceased: the statute, customary law, or Islamic law, depending on the marriage and the person.

Either way it takes months, and a lawyer is worth having. Until a grant is made, nobody has authority to sell the house, close the accounts or move the shares, whatever the family agrees among themselves.

Swearing an affidavit Replacing lost documents