Akumba Adem V. Uchii Yakou & Ors (1997)
LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report
OGUNTADE, J.C.A
The appellant was the plaintiff at the Grade 1 Area Court of Gboko. He claimed from the respondents (as the defendants) for the ownership of a piece of land and damages for the oranges and locust beans on the said land. The parties are hereinafter described as ‘plaintiff’ and ‘defendants’ which is the description they bore before the trial court at Gboko. The trial court gave judgment in favour of the plaintiff on 15/7/87. The defendants appealed against the judgment of the trial court. The Oboko High Court (Coran Hwande and Onum JJ) in its appellate jurisdiction heard the appeal. On 2/4/93, in its judgment the lower court reversed the judgment of the Area Court and dismissed the plaintiff’s case.
The plaintiff has brought this appeal against the judgment of the lower court. The plaintiff filed eight grounds of appeal. In the appellant’s brief the issues for determination were identified as the following:
“1. Whether or not the lower court properly evaluated the evidence on record before it allowed the respondents’ appeal before it.
- Whether or not the lower court was right in placing reliance on Section 146 of the Evidence Act Cap 112 Laws of the Federation 1990.
- Whether or not the award of N600.00 (six hundred naira) as damages to the appellant was arbitrary.”
The respondents’ issue for determination was formulated thus:
“Whether the appellate High Court was wrong in the circumstances of the case to have interfered with the decision of the trial area court Gboko and was wrong to have come to the decision it took?”
On 12th June 1996, the respondents filed a notice of preliminary objection wherein they contended that the 2nd, 7th, 8th and 9th grounds of appeal were incompetent. The respondents in their brief raised arguments in support of their preliminary objection. The appellant did not file a reply brief. Neither did he in any way react to the notice of preliminary objection filed and the arguments canvassed in support thereof. The result is that I now consider the preliminary objection without the benefit of an input from the appellant. The grounds of appeal in respect of which objection has been filed are 2, 7, 8 and 9. They read thus:
“2. The High Court of Justice of Benue State sitting in Gboko in its appellate jurisdiction did not properly evaluate the evidence on record before it in arriving at its decision to dismiss plaintiff’s case.
- The High Court of Justice of Benue State holden in Gboko in its appellate jurisdiction, misdirected itself on the facts in holding that the decision of the trial Grade 1 Area Court Gboko, which it overturned, was not supported by the evidence and consequently in dismissing the case of the plaintiff before the trial Grade 1 Area Court, Gboko, and this occasioned a miscarriage of justice.
PARTICULARS OF MISDIRECTION
(a) Contrary to the decision of the appellate High Court there was evidence from the records as to the age of the trees planted by the plaintiff on the land, the subject of litigation;
(b) There were from the records, equally evidence as to:
(i) the length of time plaintiff developed the land;
(ii) where the defendants left the land to, and
(iii) the reasons for defendants leaving the land.
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