Femi Amoloja & Ors V. Ife Co-operative Produce Marketing Union Limited (2016)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report

JAMES SHEHU ABIRIYI, J.C.A.

This appeal is against the judgment delivered on 5th June, 2012 in the High Court of Osun State holden at Ile-Ife.

The Respondent was the Plaintiff in the Lower Court. The Appellants were the, Defendants.

The claim of the Respondent at the lower Court was for the following:
1. A declaration that the claimant is the owner in possession of the piece or parcel of land, lying, situate and being Elutunde Famuyiwa Ishola Akiti Family land at Iwara land along Itamarun Road, Ile-Ife, the Central Local Government now Ife East Local Government covered by a Certificate of Statutory Rights of Occupancy dated 30-9-1994 No. 33 Page 33 volume 42 of the Lands Registry Osogbo.
2. N8000,000.00 General damages against the defendants for trespass committed on or about 26th May 2007 by the defendants on the land situated, lying and being Elutunde Famuyiwa Ishola Akiti family’s land at Iwara Land along Itamarun Road Ile-Ife, Ife Central Local Government now Ife East Local Government which is in possession and control of the claimant and covered by a Certificate of

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Statutory Right of Occupancy dated 30-9-1994 No. 33 Page 33 Volume 42 of the Lands Registry Office, Osogbo,
3. A Perpetual injunction restraining the 1st, 2nd 3rd and 4th defendants their servants, agents and privies from interfering with or disturbing the Claimant’s possession or/and control of the land in dispute in any manner inconsistent with the claimant’s possession or/control of the land in dispute.

The facts of the case are simple and short. From the evidence of the four witnesses called by the Respondent at the lower Court, the father of the 3rd and 4th Appellants agreed with the children to sell part of his large expanse of land in order to meet a financial need then in respect of one of the children Rotimi who had need to set up a shop to practice the trade he had just learnt.

The Respondent was among those to whom the land was advertised.

The Respondent purchased the land after inspection by its agents and a lawyer drafted an agreement of sale. The Respondent later obtained a Certificate of Occupancy for the land it purchased.

However, on 26th May 2007 when PW2 and PW3 went to the land they found the 2nd and 3rd

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Appellants allocating it to an unknown person.

When the 2nd and 3rd Appellants were challenged, they claimed to be doing that on behalf of other Appellants.

The defence of the Appellants was that the land is ancestral land belonging the children, grand children and great grand children of Akiti. The land has not yet been partitioned. The land at no time became the exclusive property of their father. The 4th Appellant and three others signed the agreement as minors. Therefore the agreement is null and void.