Alhaji Ali Maina V. Alhaji Yahaya Abdullahi (2013)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

ITA GEORGE MBABA, J.C.A. (Delivering The Leading Judgment)

This is an appeal against the decision of Hon. Justice G. I. Kurada of Kaduna State High Court in suit No. KDH/KAD/862/98, delivered on 27/5/2002.

Appellant was the defendant at the Court below and the Respondent herein the plaintiff. The plaintiff’s claim was for a declaration of title to a plot of land at No. 9 Inuwa Dada West Extension, perpetual injunction N100,000.00 (One Hundred Thousand Naira) as general damages for trespass on the land. The Respondent had counter-claim for two million Naira (N2,000,000.00) against the plaintiff (Appellant) for damages done to his building, wall, fence and so on.

At the end of the trial, the Court entered judgment for the plaintiff and dismissed the counter-claim Appellant filed the Notice of appeal on 30/5/2002, as per pages 183 to 185 of the Records of Appeal, disclosing 5 grounds of Appeal as follows:

“GROUND ONE:

The learned trial judge erred in law when he granted a perpetual injunction and awarded the sum of N100,000.00 for trespass in favour of the Respondent in the circumstances of this case.

PARTICULARS OF ERROR

a. The area or size of the land for which the perpetual injunction was granted is not known to both parties in this suit and the Court did not determine it.

b. It is not the case of the Plaintiff/Respondent that the whole plot of land disputed belongs to him he claims an unknown portion of it as his land.

c. The Plaintiff never pleaded the size of his undeveloped plot of land, if any.

d. The plaintiff/Respondent was very shaky on even the size of the portion of land he claimed to have developed – as he does not know the size of the plot he built on, does not know whether he divided the plot into two equal parts “since I am not a surveyor”.

e. No surveyor testified on his behalf.

f. The order of perpetual injunction is ambiguous and imprecise in that the portion of land it applies is not known to anybody including the Court.

g. The plaintiff never denied anywhere in his pleading or evidence that the plot of land the Defendant/Appellant built on is No. 78 Ajayi Road, Kaduna.