Habila Bayo v. Gregory Nathan (2025)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

NNAMDI OKWY DIMGBA, JCA (Delivering the leading judgment)

This is an appeal against the judgment of the High Court of Taraba State sitting in Jalingo in suit No. TRSJ/93/2017 delivered on 09/02/2021 by I. M. Sambo, J. wherein the trial court entered judgment in favour of the respondent who sued as plaintiff against the appellant as defendant, for a declaration of title and ancillary reliefs over a disputed piece of land.

The notice of appeal was filed on 11/03/22, containing 9 grounds of appeal, and is found after page 210 of the record of appeal.

The record of appeal was transmitted on 25/08/22, but deemed properly transmitted on 22/03/23, paving the way for the filing of parties’ briefs.

The appellant’s brief of argument was filed on 28/04/23, and was settled by M. I. Tyonongo Esq. The respondent’s brief of argument was filed on 24/05/23 and was settled by K. Dauda Esq.

On 29/10/24 when the appeal came up for hearing, the respective counsel adopted their briefs of argument, adumbrated on same, with the appellant’s counsel urging the court to allow the appeal and set aside the judgment of the trial court, and the respondent’s counsel urging otherwise.

Factual background

The facts leading to this appeal is that the respondent, suing for himself and members of his Kajan family took out a writ of summons at the High Court of Justice of Taraba State, Jalingo Division on 21/07/17 against the appellant, claiming the following reliefs:

1. A declaration of title over that parcel of land lying and situate at Angwan Yinvatai, Hinda Village, Lau Local Government of Taraba State, which is particularly bounded to the East by Thomas Tari [whose land was given by my grandfather to his grandfather] and Patrick Umar (Pepper], to the West by River (Lanvi), and is further bounded to the South by River [Lan vi]/Mountain and is finally bounded to the North by Patrick Umar (Pepper’s) land.
2. A declaration that the defendant is a trespasser.
3. An order directing the defendant or whosoever claims through him to desist henceforth from interfering with the plaintiff’s land in anyway.
4. N500,000.00 Damages for Trespass.
5. N500,000.00 cost of filing and prosecuting this suit.

Parties filed and exchanged pleadings. The respondent’s case was that the disputed land was part of a larger piece of land which was an inheritance from the progenitor of his Kajan family, whose name was Yasaba.

Yasaba founded the said land by deforestation, settled on and had his children on the land. After his death, his descendants, including the respondent and his family members, had continued to live on and to farm on the land.

The appellant was said to have trespassed into a small portion of the land now in dispute in the years 2015 and 2017, all of which were resisted.

These led to a number of suits between the parties at the Area Courts in Taraba State, the last being an action for criminal land trespass at the Area Court Kano instituted by the respondent following the 2017 alleged act of trespass. Both parties in that suit were ordered to desist from all farming activities on the disputed portion of the land, pending the determination of the case, but which restraining order the appellant was said to have flouted.

Needless to say, the appellant contested the suit, claiming that the disputed land belonged to his father Bayo, who had inherited same from his father Achau, who himself inherited from a long line of forebears, starting from their ancestor Badon that had founded the land by deforestation, lived and farmed on it before relocating to Angwan Abuja but still continued to visit and to farm on the land.

The respondent at trial called a total of 4 witnesses (PW1 – PW4), while the appellant called 4 witnesses (DW1 – DW4), including his father Bayo Achau who testified for him as DW1. The trial court in its judgment on 09/02/2021, found for the respondent and granted reliefs 1 to 3 as claimed, but refusing the other reliefs. See pages 180 – 210 of the record of appeal for the judgment of the trial court.