Adamu V. Nigerian Airforce & Anor (2022)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

MARY UKAEGO PETER-ODILI, J.S.C.

This is an appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Kaduna Division or Court below or lower Court, Coram: Uwani Musa Abba Aji JCA (as he then was), Oluduton Adebola Adefope-Okojie and Amina Audi Wambai JJCA, delivered on the 16th day of March, 2018 wherein the appeal of the respondents was allowed and the judgment of the trial High Court per D.H. Khobo J., was set aside and the appellant therein was declared the title holder of the property subject of this appeal.

FACTS

The case of the Appellant as plaintiff before the trial Court is that the title and interest in and over the large expanse of farmland situated and lying at Rugan-Guza, Rigachikun in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State measuring 138.803 hectares (343.00) Acres) covered by Certificate of Occupancy No. 15925 dated 9/6/2005 (Exhibit 4) and more particularly delineated in the approved survey plan no. KD.15925 deposited in the office of the Surveyor General, Ministry of Lands, Surveys and Country Planning, Kaduna State was originally vested in one Abubakar Haruna (now deceased) who acquired same from the customary owners of same. The said Abubakar Haruna in turn sold to the Appellant as evidenced by the Deed of Assignment executed between the said Abubakar Haruna and the Appellant (Exhibit 1) for a consideration of N700,000.00 which was duly perfected by the Appellant.

The Respondents and their subordinates prevented the Appellant from the legitimate exercise of the right of ownership and possession of the said farmland by way of interfering with the Appellant’s right to access to the farmland with a view to carrying out farming activities thereon.

The Appellant tendered Exhibits 1-9 while the Respondents tendered Exhibits 10-24.

The Appellant testified as PW1, One Aminu Tanimu and Idris Adamu as PW2 and PW3 respectively, Mallam Danladi Wada as PW4 and Elias Kantiok (a subpoenaed witness from the Survey Division of the Ministry of Lands, Surveys and Country Planning, Kaduna State) testified as PW5.

On the part of the Respondents, their case was predicated on the fact that the 1st Respondent has been in peaceful and undisturbed possession of the land in dispute since 1962.

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The Respondents protested that the said land was allocated to the Ministry of Defence for the 1st Respondent’s use by the then Government of Northern Nigeria through the Northern Nigeria Council Memorandum of 20th – 22nd October, 1962.

It was also their case that at the time the land was allocated to the Ministry of Defence, it was virgin forest with no one farming thereon or in occupation. The Respondents contested that the land and the ownership or interest of the Ministry of Defence has never been divested at any point in time or transferred to any person.

That by the grant of the certificate of occupancy to the appellant, the Ministry of Lands, Kaduna State shut its eyes to the existence of the Northern Nigeria Council Memorandum allocating the land to the respondents.

On the 12th day of October, 2021, date of hearing, learned counsel for the appellant, A, Bashar Esq., adopted the brief of argument filed on 6/2/2020 in which he donated a single issue, viz:

Whether on the state of pleadings and the evidence led by both parties, the learned justices of the Court of Appeal were justified when they held that the appellant failed to prove a valid root of title to the land in dispute?