Adegbanke V. Ojelabi & Ors (2021)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

MARY UKAEGO PETER-ODILI, J.S.C. 

This is an appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal, Ibadan Division or Court below or lower Court, Coram: M.D. Muhammad, J.I. Okoro JJCA (as they then were) and A.P.E Awala JCA.

The Court below allowed the appeal of the respondents herein by its decision of 18/04/2007 and it is against that judgment that the appellant has come to the Supreme Court.

BACKGROUND FACTS

By its Writ of Summons filed on the 17th March, 1998, the Plaintiff/appellant claimed as follows:-

(1) A declaration that the Plaintiff’s i.e Akinsanya Akanji Section of Ajayi Family of Jagun Sodeke Compound, Ilora, is entitled to a right of occupancy over all that land known as Igbo Ede lyin and being along Ilora-ljaye Road, Ilora in Afijo Local Government Area of Oyo State.

(2) An order setting aside the grant to the 1st Defendant by the 3rd Defendant through the 4th Defendant of Certificate of Occupancy No.22/22/2378 dated 26/5/81 and No. 30/30/3150 dated 26/10/95 of Land Registry Ibadan over part of the Plaintiff’s Family land at Igbo-Ede which were obtained by the 1st Defendant without the knowledge, consent or authority of the Plaintiff’s Family.

(3) An order setting the sale and/or conveyance of part of the land at Igbo-Ede to the 2nd Defendant, the said sale and/or conveyance having been made by the 1st Defendant without the knowledge, consent or authority of the Plaintiff’s Family.

(4) Injunction restraining the 1st and 2nd Defendants whether by themselves, their agents, servant, privies or otherwise howsoever called from entering into or committing further acts of trespass on the Plaintiff’s Land at Igbo-Ede.

(5) The sum of N40,000.00 being damages for trespass committed by the 1st and 2nd Defendant, their agents, servant, privies or otherwise howsoever called when they entered into the Plaintiff’s farmland at Igbo-Ede and destroyed the Plaintiff’s palm trees and other economic plants and substance on the said land and commenced or caused to be commenced building operations on the said farm land.

The Statement of Claim was also filed together with the Writ of Summons.

The Claim is contained in Pages 2-7 of the records.

After filing the Statement of Claim, and service was effected on the Defendants, the Defendants/respondents’ entered appearance and subsequently filed an application seeking to strike out the suit on the grounds that it constituted an abuse of the process of Court.

​The grouse of the appellant was that Suit No. HOY/7/97 which had been terminated was the same as this suit and as such constituted an abuse of the process of Court. The learned trial judge in a ruling dismissed the application on the grounds that the previous Suit No. HOY/7/1997 which was dismissed in limine could not form the basis for res-judicata to prevent the filing of Suit HOY/6/1998. At page 44 of the record, the Learned Trial Judge held as follows: