Hauwa Salami V. Bala Mohammed & Anor. (2000)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

WALI, J.S.C.

Before the Central Area Court 1, Jos, Plateau State Judiciary, the appellant as plaintiff brought the following complaint against the 1st defendant, now the respondent:-

“I sue Alhaji Bala Muhammed in that I stay in his house for about eighteen years as tenant and I am paying the rentage every month but he later on sold the house to one of the tenants by name Haliru Mustapha without informing us whether we have means to buy the house or not, while the said Haliru Mustapha (is not reach up) stay there for about 19 years, that is the reason of my complain.”

The defendant in answer to the plaintiffs complaint stated as follows:

“At first the house does not belong to me the defendant, it is for orphans. (Marayu) and they are three in number, each of them has two rooms and each one of them sold the house (her share) to one person but at different times; the time they sold (their shares) I was not there but I am the person who signed for them as their elder brother; but before I signed it for them I asked the person (who bought their respective shares) and my brother(s) (sisters) told me that the person (to whom they sold their shares) was the care-taker of the house ever since before our father died.”

It appears that the 2nd defendant Halliru Mustapha alias Bamidele was joined as a defendant to the action, he being named by the 1st defendant as the purchaser of the house. 2nd defendant in answer to a question by the court admitted purchasing the shares from Hajiya Hurairat, the mother of the children that inherited the shares.

Hajiya Hurairat in her statement to the court stated thus:

“My name is Hajiyat Hurairat. What I know is that I sold the house to Alhaji Halliru Mustapha on first time he bought two rooms; later on two, then at last I sold him the last two rooms because whenever my daughters wanted to collect rentage from Hajiya Hauwa she used to quarrel with them. That is the reason why we decided to sell the house to him to (enable him) obtain (own) the whole house. That is what I know.”

The plaintiff agreed with statement above and the further statement that she was in arrears of rent for one and a half years.

The court went and inspected the house in dispute and noted as follows:-

” …. the house contained about (6) rooms singles, bailed kitchen and birth (sic) rooms, and the court observed that it is only there (sic) personal enmity between the house owner and the court before the court and the justice is done since the complainant has stayed in the house for the period of eighteen years she is supposed to have at least two rooms out of the rooms because she has been there for too long and even she contacted them that whenever they are going to (sell the two rooms she is occupying) will buy them and they did not do so.”

With the above observations and the opinion expressed therein the trial court proceeded to give the following judgment in favour of the plaintiff:

“Judgment

For the above mentioned reason the court give judgment in favour of complainant that the said Alhaji Halliru Mustapha is not supposed to buy the whole (6) rooms contained in the house because they have been together at least 18 years as tenant therefore the complainant should pay for two rooms she is occupying, the defendant should refund her (N3.70K) as court fees.”