Chief Daniel Awodele Oloba V. Isaac Olubodun Akereja (1988)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report

O. OBASEKI, J.S.C.

The claim filed by the appellant in the Idanre/Ifedore Grade I Customary Court, holden at Igbara-Oke in Ondo State in January, 1980 was for:

“(1) declaration that the defendant is not a member of Sapetu family of Igbara-Oke;

(2) declaration that the defendant has no claim to the rights, privileges, honour and estate of the said Sapetu family of Igbara-Oke;

(3) injunction restraining the defendant from parading himself as a member of the said Sapetu family of Igbara-Oke;

(4) further injunction restraining the defendant, his servants and agents from doing anything inconsistent with the rights, interests and entitlements of the Sapetu family;

(5) special damages of N200.00 for parading himself as indication (sic) in paragraph 3 above.”

Following the service upon him of the summons, the defendant/respondent filed a motion challenging the jurisdiction of the court and more especially in the following terms:

Motion of Notice

Under Order 8 Rule 2 Customary Court Rule of Ondo State, Take Notice that this Honourable Court will be moved on Tuesday the 15th day of January, 1980 at the hour of 8.00a.m. in the forenoon or so soon thereafter as defendant/applicant can be heard for an order that this Honourable Court has no jurisdiction to entertain the above case and that the President of the Court is related to the plaintiff by marriage and maternally and for such further or other orders as this Honourable Court may deem fit to make in the circumstances.”

The application was supported by a 14 paragraph affidavit paragraphs 4, 7, 9, 10, 11 and 12 of which read:

“4. That the plaintiff told me and other members of my branch in Sapetu chieftaincy that we are not related to the chieftaincy nor are we entitled to the chieftaincy title, but we refused;

7. That the plaintiffs claims are based on Sapetu chieftaincy title and so this Court has no jurisdiction over the plaintiffs case under the Chiefs’ Law Cap 19 Laws of Western Region applicable to Ondo State;

“4. That the plaintiffs No.2 claim on his civil summons says that the defendant has no claim to the rights, privileges, honour and estate of the said Sapetu family. That it is clear that the whole matter is about Sapetu chieftaincy title and that the estate the plaintiff refers to is very large as they include buildings, farmlands and other properties;

10. That the estate is inheritance of Sapetu family inherited from generation to generation and the value today is more than 50,000.00 Naira;
11. That the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court in matters of inheritance is limited to N5000.00 under the Customary Court Edict of 1978;
12. That the President of the Court, Mr. Adigun married Abigael Adigun from the plaintiffs family and so the President is an in law to the plaintiff.”

The plaintiff/appellant deposed to and filed a counter-affidavit. Paragraphs 6, 8, 10, 17, 18 and 19 read: