Lahan v. Attorney-General of the Western Region (1963)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report

BAIRAMIAN JSC

The judgment under appeal dismisses the plaintiff’s petition of right, which prays that his family be paid compensation in respect of an area of land at Agodi-Bodija, Ibadan.

His Statement of Claim alleges that his family were the owners in possession until 1934, when the land was acquired by the Crown under the Public Lands Acquisition Ordinance; those allegations the Defense is not in a position to deny or affirm. His Statement goes on to allege that around 1934 he was paid £200 as compensation for the crops on the land; that the Defense admits but adds that Government acquired only a leasehold interest in the land.

The Defense denies his further allegations that the land is shown on the survey plan filed by the plaintiff; that part of the crops are still on the land (meaning cocoa trees and the like); that he demanded compensation for the land in 1934 and was told that his claim was receiving attention; that he petitioned about it in 1939 and in other years until 1959; or that the value of the land is £50,000.

In addition the Defense states that the plaintiff and his family are not entitled to anything more, and also gives notice that the defendant will contend that claim is statute-barred by the Limitation Act, 1623, and by section 2(2) of the Public Lands Acquisition (Amendment) Law, 1958, and that he will also contend that the action is misconceived.

When the petition came up for hearing in the Court below, upon the plaintiff’s counsel producing a letter from the Ministry of Lands, dated 24th July, 1959 – which said that the plaintiff’s letter had been received, that the matter was receiving attention, and that a further communication would be addressed to him in due course -upon plaintiff’s counsel producing that letter, Senior Crown Counsel stated to the Court that he withdrew the contention that the claim was affected by the Limitation Act, 1623, but was pursuing the contention that it was barred by the Public Lands Acquisition (Amendment) Law, 1958. Extensive argument was heard on this latter contention; but on a later date the learned Judge asked the parties to argue on the applicability of the Limitation Act, 1623 to the petition. Crown Counsel argued; Counsel for the plaintiff did likewise, prefacing his argument with the submission that since the defense under the Act of 1623 had been abandoned, argument on it would be academic.

The learned Judge later delivered a considered Ruling that the claim was barred by the Limitation Act of 1623, and dismissed the claim. Hence this appeal, which complains in various ways about the claim being barred by effluxion of time, and also that the trial Judge acted wrongly and erroneously in considering a defense under the Act of 1623 when that had been abandoned on the defendant’s behalf.

When the appeal was first called on for a day to be appointed for the hearing, the Court intimated to Counsel that it would like to hear argument on the question whether, in view of the provisions of section 10 of the Lands Acquisition Ordinance, the plaintiff ought not to have taken out a summons under that section to make his claim to compensation for land acquired under that Ordinance, instead of filing a petition of right; in other words, did a petition of right lie?

It is necessary to quote the text of section 10 of the Lands Acquisition Law, cap. 105 in the Laws of the Western Region, which is the offspring of the Lands Acquisition Ordinance previously in force there, and of section 3 of the Petitions of Right Law, cap. 90 of those Laws.

Section 10 of the Acquisition Law provides that –

“(1) If for six weeks after the service and publication as aforesaid of such notice no claim shall be lodged with the Permanent Secretary in respect of such lands, or if the person who may have lodged any claim and the Minister shall not agree as to the amount of the compensation to be paid for the estate or interest in such lands belonging to such person, or which he is by this Law enabled to sell and convey, or if such person has not given satisfactory evidence in support of his claim or if separate and conflicting claims are made in respect of the same lands, the amount of compensation due, if any, and every such case of disputed interest or title shall be settled by the High Court, which court shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine in all cases mentioned in this section upon a summons taken out by the Minister, or any person holding or claiming any estate or interest in any lands named in any notice aforesaid, or enabled or claiming to be enabled by this Law to sell and convey the same.

(2) Subject to the provisions of section 20, no claim to any estate, interest or right in or to any lands in respect of which a notice has been served and published in the Gazette in accordance with section 9, or to any compensation or rent in respect of any such estate, interest or right, made after the expiration of twelve months from the publication of the notice, shall be entertained by any public officer whose duty it is to receive such claims or by any court.”

Section 3 of the Petitions of Right Law provides that –

“(1) All claims against the Government or against any Government Department, being of the same nature as claims which may be preferred against the Crown in England by petition, manifestation or plea of right may, with the consent of the Governor be preferred in a superior court having original jurisdiction in respect thereof in a suit instituted by the claimant as plaintiff against the Attorney-General as defendant or such other officer as the Governor may from time to time designate for that purpose.