Olam Nigeria Limited v. Stephen Ose Anmena & Ors (2024)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

BIOBELE ABRAHAM GEORGEWILL, JCA (Delivering the leading judgment)

This is an appeal against the ruling of the High Court of Nasarawa State, Keffi Division, Coram: S. A. Ayiwulu J, in suit No. NSD/K59/2020: Stephen Ose Anmena & 5 Ors . Olam Nigeria Ltd delivered on 28/9/2021, in which the appellants application challenging the competence of the respondents suit and seeking to strike out and or dismiss the respondents suit was dismissed.

The appellant was thoroughly dissatisfied with the said decision of the lower and had appealed against it to this court vide its notice of appeal filed on 4/10/2021 on four grounds of appeal. See pages 308 – 315 of the record of appeal. The record of appeal was compiled and transmitted to this court on 15/10/2021.

With the leave of this court the supplementary record of appeal was compiled and transmitted to this court on 20/9/2024. The parties filed and exchanged their briefs, the appellants brief, the respondents brief and the appellants reply.

The appeal was heard on 3/10/2024. The appellant was represented by A. M. Ewuga, Esq., who adopted the appellants brief and reply brief as his arguments and urged the court to allow the appeal and strike out and dismiss the respondents suit for being incompetent.

The respondents were represented by A. B. Anthony, Esq., appearing with A. M. Adokpa, Esq., who adopted the respondents brief as their arguments and urged the court to dismiss the appeal.

Succinct statement of facts

The respondents as claimants had on 5/10/2020 instituted a suit before the lower court claiming against the appellant for the following reliefs, to wit:

A. A declaration that they and Ondori Community Elcye Development Area Doma L.G.A., Nasarawa State are the owners of the disputed farmland and the only persons entitled to the issuance of customary right of occupancy over the disputed land.

B. A declaration that the conduct of the defendant claiming ownership of the disputed land is incompatible with its status as a tenant and therefore entitled to forfeit the loan of the disputed land granted to it.

C. An order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendant by itself, agents, assigns, directors, personal representatives, privies, executors and every other persons claiming the usage of the disputed farmland through the defendant from farming, working, building or doing anything whatsoever on the disputed farmland.

D. General and specific damages of N20,000,000,000.00 only for the injury, damages, destruction, hunger and starvation and economic lost occasioned by the act and conduct of the defendant.

E. Cost of this action.

The appellant had in response to the respondents’ claim stated in its statement of defence, particularly at paragraphs 7, 8 and 9 that there are many and different expanses of land in and around Ondori Community, Doma L.G.A., Nasarawa State as such it does not know the land the respondents are laying claim upon as the Appellant is not in occupation of same.