Chief Isaac Olokunlade & Anor V. Mr. Abegunde Samuel & Ors (2010)
LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL
CHIDI NWAOMA UWA, J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment)
This is an appeal against the decision of the Ekiti State High Court, sitting at Omuo Ekiti delivered by D. O. Jegede, J on the 4th day of June, 2008 in which the court dismissed the plaintiffs’ (now Appellants) case in its entirety.
The Appellants as plaintiffs on behalf of Olokoju family of Iluomoba Ekiti filed an action against ,the Respondents as defendants in the lower court and claimed as follows:-
(i) A DECLARATION that the large piece or parcel of land known as ‘Ehin Isesi farm land’ lying, situate and being along Iluomoba/Igbemo Road, Iluomoba Ekiti belong absolutely to Olokoiu family of Iluomoba Ekiti.
(ii) A FORFEITURE of the customary tenancy agreement granted the defendants on the piece or parcel of farmland lying, situate and being along Iluomoba/Igbemo Road, otherwise ‘known as ‘Ehin Isesi farmland’ Iluomoba Ekiti for fundamental breach of the said agreement.
(iii) A sum of N50, 000.00 each being a reasonable estimate of the arrears of annual rent/royalty owned by the defendants for the period estimated at 10 years when they stopped the said payment without any justification whatsoever which hitherto had been paid by their forefathers.
(iv) A PERPETUAL INJUNCTION restraining the defendants, their agents, servant, privies or anybody claiming title paramount from planting permanent crops like cocoa oil palm, coffee or erecting any permanent structure on the land in dispute without the express written permission of the plaintiff.
(v) A PERPETUAL INJUNCTION restraining the defendant, their agents, servants, privies or anybody claiming title from them from harvesting the palm trees and/or cutting the timber trees in the land in dispute without the express written permission of the plaintiffs.”
At the end of the trial, the learned trial judge in his judgment dismissed all the plaintiff’s/Appellants’ claims.
The back ground facts on the Appellants’ part is that the land in dispute known as “Ehin Isesi farmland” belongs to their family and that the Respondents are their customary tenants who refused to pay annual rents estimated at N50, 000.00, for this reason, they prayed the lower court to resttain the respondents from planting economic crops on the land in dispute or felling Economic trees.
On the other hand the Respondents also claimed the land in dispute belongs to their family, Anaun family of Iluomoba Ekiti who has been on the land from time immemorial and exercising various acts of ownership over same. They denied being the customary tenants of the Appellants.
Aggrieved by the decision of the trial court, the Appellants filed their Notice of Appeal of 1/8/08 containing eight (8) grounds of Appeal from which six (6) issues were formulated for determination by this court, they are: –
“1. Whether the Appellant proved through credible evidence their traditional history of ownership of the land and whether the minor contradiction pointed out by the learned trial judge is fatal to the Appellants case.
- Whether it is compulsory to reply to a statement of defence of a defendant where it merely joined issues with plaintiff’s Statement Claim.
- Whether the learned trial judge was right in holding that the admission by PW2 that the Respondents have crops on the land is evidence of ownership by the Respondents.
- Whether the learned trial judge was right in relying on technical issue in arriving at his decisions.
- Whether the cost of N10, 000 was excessive.
- Whether consequent upon the proof of the case against the Respondents, the Appellants are entitled to damages and perpetual injunction.”
The Respondents on their part raised four issues for determination as follows:-
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