Elder Adewale Ogunfowote (Aba Adio, Odo-ona Elewe) & Ors v. The Governor Of Oyo State & Ors (2024)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

GABRIEL OMONIYI KOLAWOLE, JCA (Delivering the leading judgment)

The appellants herein were landlords and occupants in some landed properties in certain areas of Ibadan in Oyo State, as can be gleaned from the record before the court, there were approvals obtained thereon, many of which sated back to the 1970s, before the construction of certain buildings.

However, :ne facts from the record, these properties were demolished by the respondents n the wake of the flooding caused by some named streams in Ibadan which overflowed their banks in the aftermath of a heavy downpour in August, 2011, consequent upon which many lives were lost and properties were destroyed.

The demolition of the appellants’ property was preceded by a notice served on the appellants by the respondents, demanding that they vacate the affected properties which were marked for demolition, in order to make room for the expansion of the channels of the streams so as to forestall a future reoccurrence of the devastating flood.

The appellants thereafter demanded from the respondents, compensation for the said demolitions as, in the appellants’ opinion, it amounts to revocations of their previously held titles to their respective properties, hence the need for compensation as prescribed by the provision of section 29 of the Land Use Act, 1978.

When the demanded compensations were not forthcoming, the appellants, as the claimants, initiated the suit that birthed the instant appeal in the High Court of Oyo State sitting in Ibadan, Coram: Ganiyu, J, (the lower court).

The suit was filed vide the writ of summons dated and filed on 1st April, 2014, as can be found in pages 1 – 9 of the record of appeal, “the record”, wherein the following reliefs were sought from the lower court:

1. Declaration that the decision of the defendants to demolish the private buildings of the claimants erected under the approval and authorization of the defendants and which approvals and authorizations were paid for and obtained prior to the construction of the aforesaid buildings is a contravention and gross violation of the claimants’ fundamental rights as enshrined in section 44 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, illegal null and void.
2. Declaration that any decision on the part of the defendants to demolish the private buildings of the claimants on the excuse that the developments contravened the provisions of the Oyo State Urban and Planning Board Law 2001 or any Law whatsoever without any provision for the prompt payment of adequate compensation is illegal, ultra vires.
3. An order of court compelling the defendants to pay to the defendants forthwith the value of their respective houses based on the valuation report mentioned in paragraph 19 above.
4. An order directing the defendant either by themselves, their servants, agent and or privies to undertake the proper audit of the houses in the area affected for the purpose of the payment of compensation for improvement thereon,

The respective parties in the suit filed and exchanged their pleadings to commence trial in the lower court.

At the conclusion of the trial in the lower court, parties filed and adopted their respective final addresses in the suit. The learned trial Judge, on 21st November, 2019, delivered his considered judgment in the suit. The learned trial Judge dismissed the appellants’ claim in the suit when he held that;

“… the claimants’ properties cannot be said to have been acquired by the defendants and as such are ordinarily not entitled to compensation…”

The judgment of the lower court is reproduced in pages 340 – 382 of the record.

The appellants were aggrieved by the said decision of the lower court and had initiated the instant appeal vide the notice of appeal, dated 11th February, 2020.

The 5 grounds contained in the notice of appeal are reproduced in pages 383 – 386 of the record of appeal.

In line with the rules of this court, the appellants filed the “appellants’ brief of argument” dated 27th May, 2022 but filed on 30th May, 2022, and same was settled by Olakunle Faokunla, Esq., who set down three (3) issues for determination thus;