Lawrence Na’aji Teumpenkenso V. Alhaji Sani Ahmadu Ribadu & Anor (2017)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

SAIDU TANKO HUSAINI, J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment)

This appeal is against the Judgment of the High Court of Adamawa State delivered on the 14th day of July, 2016 in Suit No. ADSY/45/2012.

The Appellant as the Plaintiff at the High Court had by the Writ of Summons and the Statement of claim dated the 2nd June, 2012 and filed on the 13th June, 2012 claimed against the defendants jointly and severally the reliefs set out at paragraph 26 as follows:-

1. A declaration that the acts of the defendants in confiscating the plaintiff’s farmland in the name of the 2nd defendant and allocating same land to other private individuals without compensation to the plaintiff is unlawful and infringes the plaintiff?s Constitutionally guaranteed right under Section 36(1) and Section 43 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
2. A declaration that the plaintiff/appellant is entitled to compensation for the improvements he made on the farmland and the loss of the use of the farmland.
3. An Order of the Court that the defendants pay to the plaintiff the sum of N10,000,000 (Ten Million Naira) Only as damages for the unlawful

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confiscation of the plaintiff?s farmland.

4. The cost of this suit.
5. Such other orders as the Court may deem fit to make.

The Respondents as defendants initially filed a joint statement of defence and denied the claim prompting the appellant to file a 4 paragraph Reply to the Statement of Defence. Respondents? amended statement of defence is at pages 47 -48 of the record of appeal.

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The case of the appellant, put briefly is that he bought a piece of land from the Ward Head of KarewaGoda and another piece from a retired Soldier and merged the two parcels of land together and expanded his land to include the land adjacent to the one he bought. He started to cultivate the land after deforesting same and continued to put the land in use up to the time the Respondents ceased and confiscated it from him. The 1st Respondent as the then Chairman of the 2nd Respondent, having confiscated the land or farmland allocated the land to himself and some other individuals without providing him with alternative land or paying him any compensation. The plaintiff further claim that he has been in undisputed possession of the farmland for about 20

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years as at the time the land was confiscated hence the suit instituted by him at the High Court and giving rise to this appeal.

The Respondents on their part contend that the land in dispute originally belong to Adamawa Native Authority from which the land devolved to them with the creation of Local Government Administration in Nigeria in 1976. It is their case that the Ministry of Environment had approved the transfer of the land in its care to the 2nd Respondent with the 1st Respondent as the Executive Chairman at that time. The land in dispute according to them was a forest Reserve known as the Adamawa Native Authority Sabore Forest Reserve. Upon the handing over of the forest to the 2nd Respondent, the need arose to clear the land and allocate it to people.

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Parties elicited evidence of witnesses at the trial with the Appellant (Plaintiff) calling evidence of One (1) witness. He also tendered some documents as Exhibits. Ditto, the Respondents. Learned counsel on both sides also made final submissions at the close of evidence of witnesses and the trial Court in a reserved Judgment delivered on the 14th July, 2016 dismissed the case of the appellant

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