Alhaji T. A. Ogboriefon V. Ismaila O. Ogboriefon & Anor. (2011)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

SIDI DAUDA BAGE, J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment)

This is an appeal against the ruling of Oyelaran J. sitting at High Court No. 17, High Court of Justice Ibadan delivered on the 14th day of March, 2002, against the plaintiff/Appellant.

The plaintiff/Appellant filed a motion on notice for an order of certiorari with affidavit in support dated the 18th day of July, 2001. He also filed a further affidavit with Exhibits dated the 27th July, 2011.

The defendants/respondents filed their counter affidavit dated the 29th of October, 2001, they also filed a further counter affidavit with Exhibits dated the 5th of December, 2001.

Briefly put, the facts of this case as could be gathered from the pleadings by the parties is that the 1st Respondent is the Mogaji of Ogboriefon family. The Appellant is also a member of the family. The 2nd Respondent (Olubadan of Ibadan) is the consenting authority for minor chieftaincy to which a Mogaji belong.

After the demise of the last Mogaji of the family, nomination was called for from the next branch of the family that is to present a candidate.

The 1st Respondent who belongs to the Oyewusi branch of the family that is to present the next Mogaji, was nominated by members of his branch, he filled the nomination form, which was accompanied by the names of members of his family that supported his nomination. The application with the names of his sponsors/were submitted to the 2nd Respondent, who invited the family to a meeting in his palace on the 11th January, 1999. At the meeting the 2nd Respondent asked whether there was anybody opposed to the nomination of 1st respondent, when there was no objection, he was accordingly installed the Mogaji of Ogboriefon family.

It was after the appointment and installation of the 1st respondent that the appellant instituted an action at the Oyo State High Court sitting at Ibadan in Suit No. 1/4/01 challenging the installation of the 1st respondent.

The action was struck out; Exhibit E3 is the enrolment of order striking it out.

The applicant/appellant being dissatisfied commenced an action by way of prerogative writ i.e. certiorari. The High Court, Ibadan heard it and the action was dismissed on the 14th March, 2002. It is against this ruling that the Applicant/Appellant has appealed.

The Learned counsel to the appellant filed a Notice of Appeal dated the 3rd of May, 2002. The said notice of appeal contains five (5) grounds of appeal. From the said grounds of appeal the learned counsel distilled the following issues for the determination of this court viz.

(1) Whether the learned trial judge was right in not attaching any weight to Exhibit ‘B’ attached to the affidavit on the ground that it was written in Yoruba Language.

(2) Whether the learned trial judge was right to have held that the proceedings to be quashed was not attached to the application

(3) Whether the learned trial judge was right to have held that the action was premature.