Chief Gordon Joe Young Jack & Ors V. Chief R.i. T. Whyte & Ors (2001)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

MOHAMMED, J.S.C.

This is an appeal from the decision of the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt Division. The plaintiffs, hereinafter referred to as the appellants, in this appeal, took out a writ from the High Court of Justice, River State, sitting at Degema, and claimed for the following reliefs against the defendants jointly and severally:

“(a)A declaration that both the plaintiffs and 1st set of defendants are units under the paramount chieftaincy stool of the Standfast Jack stool and that the head of Oba House is automatically the head of Iju House.

(b)A declaration that the purported selection and presentation of Chief K.J. Dagogo-Jack as the paramount head of Iju House on the 30th day of November, 1985, by the 1st set of defendants and his subsequent installation by the 2nd set of defendants is most irregular, improper, and contrary to Kalabari native law and custom and also against the time honoured usage and custom of Standfast group of houses.

(c)A declaration that the Standfast Jack stool is the main or paramount stool of the group of houses (including both plaintiffs and 1st set of defendants) that make up the Standfast Jack House otherwise known as Iju Jack House.

(d) A declaration that the 6th defendant was never installed in view of (a) & (c) above as the paramount Chief of the Standfast Jack House.

(e)An Order of Mandatory injunction against the 2nd set of defendants directing them to withdraw the recognition already given to the 6th defendant as the paramount head of the Standfast Jack House otherwise known as Iju Jack House.

(f)An order of perpetual injunction restraining the 6th defendant personally by himself, and/or through his privies, agents, emissaries, etc. from parading himself as the paramount chief of Stand fast Jack House and from performing any of the functions incidental to the occupation of that stool.”

When this appeal was called for hearing a letter written by Chief Richard Akinjide, SAN, was read in court. In the letter the learned senior advocate applied for the adjournment of the hearing of the appeal to a date in the year 2001. Chief Richard Akinjide, SAN, explained, in his letter, that he was asked to argue the appeal on behalf of the appellants, but he had commitment abroad on the Bakassi case pending at the Hague. Learned counsel for the respondents, Okocha SAN, opposed the application for adjournment pointing out that a comprehensive brief of argument had been filed for the appellants and that he had come with his team of lawyers to respond to the arguments to be made by the appellants. After going through Chief Akinjide’s letter we sustained the objection of Mr. Okocha and directed the learned counsel present in court to highlight the issues in their briefs if they deemed fit. Alhaji Oso, who prepared the brief for the appellants, told the court that he had no mandate from the appellants to represent them before the Supreme Court. We therefore treated the brief filed for the appellants as having been argued; and when Okocha, SAN, said that he adopted respondents’ brief and had nothing to further emphasise, the case was adjourned for judgment.

I now proceed with the judgment. Pleadings were called and delivered. The facts of the case as shown in the appellants’ brief are in the following narrative: The parties to this appeal belong to the Standfast Jack House of Abonnema, popularly called Iju/Jack Group of Houses. According to the appellants, the Standfast Jack House is the main or paramount stool in Abonnema. This is because the original Iju/Jack House founded by Iju/Jack himself disintegrated during the tenure of Tubofia, the great ancestor of the respondents. Iju/Jack was a wealthy warrior in Kalabari Kingdom but had no biological child of his own. He therefore adopted many children who manned his war-canoe. After the death of Iju/Jack, his brother Oriki succeeded him. After Oriki, Iju/Jack’s adopted son, Tubofia, succeeded him.

The two parties, in this appeal, disagreed over the events which followed the reign of Tubofia. According to the appellants the reign of Tubofia was a disaster. All the wealth left behind by Iju/Jack was vandalized and squandered by Tubofia. The House became insolvent and Tubofia had to disappear. This led to the disintegration of Iju/Jack House. Before the House disintegrated one fugitive Onuoha ran into Iju/Jack House and was given shelter by Tubofia. Onuoha was later integrated into the House. He married one of the daughters of the family and had three issues from the marriage. One of the sons, Oba, later became rich and established his own War-Canoe. It was this Oba who established Standfast Jack House, the ancestor of the appellants. It is also the appellants’ case that when Iju/Jack House disintegrated it was no longer a War-Canoe. When Oba founded anew War-Canoe, Standfast Jack House became the paramount chieftaincy in the Iju/Jack Group of Houses. The others, Tubofia, Boye- Whyte and Kala-Dokubo became sub-Houses. This dispute which led to this appeal arose when the 6th respondent (now deceased) was installed to sit on the paramount stool of Standfast Jack House.

The respondents’ case is that all the parties in this appeal belong to the Iju/Jack House. Both the appellants and the respondents gave the same history of the lineage of their ancestor up to Iju/Jack the founder of the original chieftaincy.

Where they differ is at the stage when Tubofia became the paramount chief. The respondents said that the name “Standfast Jack” took its rise from Tubofia, who, during his contact with the European traders was dubbed “Standfast Jack” by the European traders after he told them “I STAND FOR JACK”. This was in reference to the founder of the Iju/Jack House.

During the trial both the appellants and the respondents called witnesses and documents were also admitted in evidence. The learned trial judge analysed all the facts and evidence before him and in a considered judgment found in favour of the appellants, and granted all the declarations sought for in the writ. Dissatisfied with judgment the respondents appealed to the Court of Appeal. The court below reversed the decision of the learned trial Judge in the following conclusions: