Chief Sir A.O. Ezegbo & Anor V. George C. Igbokwe (2016)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

JIMI OLUKAYODE BADA, J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment)

This is an appeal against the Judgment of High Court of Justice, Benin City in the Edo State of Nigeria in Suit No. B/119/2003. GEORGE C. IGBOKWE VS CHIEF SIR A. O. EZEGBO AND ANOR delivered on the 27th day of July 2010. As a result of the transfer of the learned trial Judge to Auchi, the case was concluded at Auchi High Court of Edo State of Nigeria.

Briefly the facts of the case are that by Paragraph 18 of the amended statement of claim, the Plaintiff claimed jointly and severally against the Defendants (now Appellants) the sum of Fifty Million Naira (N50,000,000.00) as damages for libel.

Pleadings were filed and exchanged by the parties. The case proceeded to hearing, and at the conclusion of hearing, Judgment was entered against the Defendants (now Appellants) jointly and severally and to pay (N10,000,000.00) Ten million Naira as damages for the libellous publication in Exhibit ?A1? against the person of the Plaintiff now Respondent.

Dissatisfied with the Judgment of the Lower Court, the Appellants appealed to this Court.

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The learned

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counsel for the Appellants formulated six issues for the determination of this appeal. The issues are reproduced as follows:-

ISSUES FOR DETERMINATION

1. Whether the Lower Court had the jurisdiction to hear and determine this suit in Benin.
2. Whether the Lower Court can make any other findings on defamation in favour of the Plaintiff apart from the relief of fifty million Naira damages for libel which he claimed.
3. Whether the trial Court was right in law when it only considered in isolation the portions of Exhibit ?A1? which the Plaintiff/Respondent complained about and refused to consider the aforesaid Exhibit ?A1? in its entirety.
4. Whether the Lower Court was right in law when it failed to consider the defence of justification and refused to evaluate Exhibits G1, G2, and G3 tendered by the Defendants and also refused to consider the evidence of DW1, DW2, DW3, and DW4.
5. Whether the Lower Court was right in law when it held that the Defendants directly charged Plaintiff with the offence of murder.
6. Whether the damages awarded to the Plaintiff/Respondent was not excessive in view of the

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finding of the trial Court and the pleadings and evidence before the trial Court.

The learned counsel for the Respondent on the other hand, adopted the six issues formulated for the determination of the appeal on behalf of the Appellants.

At the hearing of the Appeal, the learned counsel for the Appellants stated that the appeal is against the Judgment of Edo State High Court delivered on 27/7/2010.