Chief Karimu Ajagunjeun v. Sobo Osho of Yeku Village & Ors. (1977)

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IDIGBE, J.S.C.

In these proceedings which commenced in the Ake Grade ‘A’ Customary Court, holden at Abeokuta, the appellants, as plaintiffs, claimed from the respondents, as defendants,

“(1) Possession of the portion or portions of the farmland occupied by the defendants on the plaintiffs’ farmland at Orile Kesi as per judgment in suit No. 139/58 Ake Grade ‘A’ Court confirmed in suit No. AB 40A/60 High Court Abeokuta on appeal.

(2) Injunction to restrain the defendants from further occupation of the portion or portions of the farmland.

The Ake Grade ‘A’ Customary Court (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Ake Customary Court’) presided over by His Honour, Samuel Ayodele Olukoya, Esquire on the 19th day of August, 1971, in its judgment in favour of the appellants ordered as follows:

“There will be judgment in favour of the plaintiffs for possession and injunction as per the Writ of Summons as against the defendants.”

The appellants unsuccessfully appealed to the Western State Court of Appeal (hereinafter called ‘the Court of Appeal’) from the judgment of the High Court of Western State, holden at Abeokuta (Ganiyu Agbaje, J.), which reversed the decision of the Ake Customary Court, following an appeal by the respondents from the judgment of the said Customary Court. This appeal is from the judgment of the Court of Appeal.

The facts which form the background to these proceedings may be summarized thus; In 1958 the present appellants brought an action, (Suit 139/58 against the present respondents in the Ake Customary Court and claimed:

as representatives of Kesi people ‘………

(1) Declaration that the plaintiffs (i.e the appellants), are the owners of the two pieces of land known as Kesi homestead or Igbonla and Itele Ile respectively via Bagbon on which the defendants (i.e. the respondents) had committed trespass by entering, clearing and planting Cocoa, Kola, Cotton etc. about two years ago.

(2) 250pounds damages for trespass committed by the defendants on the said plaintiffs’ land by entering, clearing, cultivating and planting Cocoa, Kola, Cotton etc about two years ago”.

(Brackets and underlining supplied).

The respondents appealed unsuccessfully from the judgment of the Ake Customary Court (Presided over by His Honour, Chief Ilori) in the above action (Suit 139/58) (and which we set out in detail in the next paragraph) to the High Court of Western State (in Suit AB 40A/60) and later to the Federal Supreme Court (in Suit SC 174/64), which delivered its judgment on the 31st of October, 1966. Shortly after the judgment in the Federal Supreme Court the appellants, alleging that the respondents had extended the several areas of their several farm holding without first obtaining their permission to do so, commenced the present proceedings.

We think, it is necessary, in order to appreciate the reason for the present proceedings to set out in detail some of the relevant passages in the judgment of Chief Ilori in suit 139/58 and these read:-