Emmanuel T Ayeni & Ors V. William Abiodun Sowemimo (1982)

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UDO UDOMA, J.S.C.

This is an appeal from the judgment of the Federal Court of Appeal in which the judgment and Order of the High Court of Lagos State, (Williams J.), in favour of the Plaintiff was affirmed.

In this court the judgment has been challenged. It has been attacked on two major grounds directed principally to the state of pleadings in the suit. The grounds of appeal may be stated as follows

(1) The Federal Court of Appeal erred in law in failing to hold that the Plaintiff was bound by the averment contained in paragraph 13 of the statement of claim which showed that the statement of claim disclosed no cause of action.

(2) The Federal Court of Appeal erred in law in failing to uphold the objection of the Appellants that the action was not properly constituted because

(i) The Defendants were sued in their personal capacity whereas the property in dispute is the property of Oponuwa family; and

(ii) The members of Oponuwa family not being before the court or represented it was both improper and inappropriate for the court to have directed a partition of the family property.

For the proper appreciation of the issues raised and argued in the two grounds of appeal before this court, it is necessary, I think, to examine in some detail certain aspects of the relevant portions of the pleadings in the case and the manner in which the matter was dealt with in both the High Court and the Federal Court of Appeal.

In SUIT No. LD/144/74 in the High Court of Lagos State, the claim of the Plaintiff, herein Respondent, against the Defendants, herein Appellants, as endorsed on his writ of summons both as to the parties thereto and the particulars thereof read as are hereunder set forth:

BETWEEN:

“William Abiodun Sowemimo, (For and on behalf of the children of late

Chief M.A. Sowemimo)…………… Plaintiff

AND:

Alhaji Moriamo Somisi, Oyedel Igara Adaraloye, Omotayo Igara