Aregbeosula Arowolo & Anor V. Oba S.a. Akaiyejo Ii, The Ogoga Of Ikere Ekiti (2011)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

UWANI MUSA ABBA AJI, J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment)

This is an appeal against the decision of the Ekiti State High Court of Justice, Ikere-Ekiti, delivered by Hon. Justice D.O. Jegede on the 11th January, 2010, wherein the court dismissed the claims of the Appellants for want of cause of action and locus standi.

The Appellants as the Plaintiffs at the lower court instituted this action wherein they claimed against the Defendant now Respondent the following declaratory and injunctive reliefs as contained in paragraph 17 of their statement of claim, as follows:

a. A declaration that the Plaintiffs (Agbayan family) of Odo-Oja Quarters Ikere Ekiti is entitted to the Agbayan chieftaincy title of Ikere Ekiti.

b. A declaration that the continued refusal of the defendant to fix a date for installation of the plaintiffs’ candidate for Agbayan chieftaincy despite repeated written and verbal demands is illegal, untraditional and an abandonment of duty.

c. An order of mandatory injunction against the defendant to install the candidate presented by the plaintiff’s family to the vacant stool of Agbayan chieftaincy.

d. A general damages of N500, 000:00 for illegal refused (sic) to install plaintiff’s family candidate.

The facts of this case leading to this appeal as can be gleaned from the pleadings and the evidence of witnesses is that the plaintiffs family who are from Agbayan chieftaincy family of Odo-Oja, Quarters, Ikere Ekiti, are specifically, entitled to install a person from their family as the Agbayan but that they had approached two previous Ogogas of Ikere and the incumbent Ogoga, i.e. the present Respondent, to let them appoint somebody to the vacant stool of Agbayan to no avail. The Appellants claimed that they do not know why the Agogas have refused to allow them appoint an Agbayan, a stool that had been vacant for a period of time. The Appellants stated that a nymber of their family had been Agbayan before. They further stated that the Ajakaiye chieftaincy commission ordered the prescribed authority, being the Ogoga to appoint an Agbayan and that the Government issued a white paper on the report of the commission which was tendered in evidence. They denied the fact that it is only Ejise chieftaincy title that they have in their family.

The case of the Respondent on the other hand is that there is no family called Agbayan family in Ikere, whereas the Appellants are from Ejise family in Odo-Oja, Ikere, so there is no chieftaincy title called Agbayan known to the history of Ikere.

The parties filed and exchanged pleadings and issues were joined. The matter went to trial and witnesses testified. The respective counsel addressed the court, and in a considered judgment delivered on the 11th January, 2010, the learned trial Judge dismissed the Appellants’ claim for want of cause of action and locus standi.

The Appellants are aggrieved with the decision of the trial Court and have appealed to this Honourable Court vide a Notice of Appeal filed on the 5th February, 2010 upon two grounds of appeal. The two grounds of appeal without their particulars are hereby reproduced:-

GROUNDS OF APPEAL

1. The learned trial Judge erred in law by holding that the Plaintiffs’ case disclosed no cause of action.
2. The learned trial Judge erred in law by dismissing the plaintiffs’ case as he did.

The Appellants filed six (6) additional grounds of appeal on the 11th June, 2010 and same was deemed properly filed by order of court made on the 20th October, 2010. The six (6) additional grounds of appear are also hereby reproduced without their particulars.

Additional Grounds of Appeal