Military Governor Of Lagos State & Ors V. Adebayo Adeyiga & Ors (2012)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

OLUFUNLOLA OYELOLA ADEKEYE, J.S.C.

This is an appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division delivered on 25th of September 2001. The suit was filed before the High court of Lagos State on the 17th of June 1988. The seven plaintiffs now respondents in this appeal sued in a representative capacity for themselves and on behalf of other members of Shangisha Landlords Association as per order of court dated 21/11/1988 against the 1st – 4th defendants now appellants seeking for declaratory order as follows:-

“An order that members of the Shangisha Landlords Association whose lands and/or buildings at Shangisha Village were demolished by the Lagos State Government and/or its servants or agents during the period of June 1984 to May 1985 are entitled to first choice preferential treatment in the allocation and/or (as soon as possible) re-allocation of their particular plots as agreed in the meeting held on the 16/10/84 with the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Development Matters.”

The 5th respondent Samuel Olatunde Smith was joined as a defendant pursuant to the leave granted by the trial court on the 15th of October 1993. Parties were allowed to amend their pleadings. The summary of the claim of the plaintiffs/respondents based on the averments in their pleadings was that members of the Shangisha Landlords Association purchased various plots of land from the different families who owned the entire Shangisha Village. Shangisha village which is situated behind centre for Management Development, opposite the Lagos State Government Secretariat in Alausa had been in existence for more than a century. The plaintiffs built their houses on the plots purchased by them and were in possession for several years. The plaintiffs were not served with any contravention or demolition notices by the 1st – 4th defendants or their agents before they demolished their houses and development at Shangisha village. The demolition exercise continued from June 1984 to May 1985. The Association made representation to the Governor of Lagos State culminating in several meetings held at the office of the Permanent Secretary, Lands, Housing and Development Matters to resolve the outcome of the demolition exercise. A panel was set up by the Lagos State Governor under a principal secretary in the Governor’s office to inquire into the complaints about the demolition. Though the reports were submitted, there was no positive move over the complaint.

The case of the defendants/appellants based on the averments in their pleadings was that Shangisha village is a part of the 7,300 acres of land compulsorily acquired by the Lagos State Government by Government Notice No.236 of 14th October 1969 published in the Lagos State official Gazette No.35 Vol.2 of 24th October 1969. As a result of the acquisition the land became vested in the Lagos State Government by virtue of the public Land Acquisition Vesting order of 1976 published as Lagos State Legal Notice No.7 of 1976 in the Lagos State Extraordinary Gazette No.25 Vol.9 of 18th June, 1976. The plaintiffs/respondents were not physically on the site at the time of the acquisition. They squatted and erected buildings on the land without the knowledge and approval of the Lagos State Government. As no building plans were issued to them to erect the illegal structures contravention and demolition notices were duly served on the affected buildings and structures before the Lagos State Government carried out the demolition of the illegal structures. The Lagos State Government set up a panel whose term of reference was to inquire into various encroachments by squatters on Lagos State Government Estate.

The trial in the suit commenced in May 1993 and due to the delays caused by various interlocutory applications filed by both parties, it extended till the 29th of December 1993 and judgment was delivered on the 31st of December 1993. The learned trial Judge found in favour of the plaintiffs/respondents. Being aggrieved by the judgment, the defendants filed an appeal in the Court of Appeal Lagos. At the Court of Appeal, two applications were filed to regularize the Record of appeal as proceedings of the 23rd of December 1993 was omitted from the record. The lower court heard and determined the appeal and gave its judgment on the 25th of September 2001 dismissing the appeal of the 1st – 4th appellants. Being dissatisfied with the decision of the lower court, they further appealed to this court.

At the hearing of this appeal on the 15th of November 2011, the appellants adopted and relied on the appellants’ brief of argument filed on 13/7/05. Mr. Lawal Pedro learned senior advocate and Solicitor-General Lagos State announced the withdrawal of issues five and six of the six issues formulated for determination by the appellants in this appeal.

The four issues for determination read as follows: –

1. Whether the court below was right when it held that it was not necessary for any of the parties to bring an application by way of summons for urgent hearing of the case during the court’s Christmas vacation and particularly for the proceedings dated 29tr and 31st of December 1993.
2. Whether there was any oral application made by Chief A.O. Adefila of counsel to the plaintiffs/respondents that the case be heard urgently and during the courts Christmas vacation.
3. Whether the court was right in confirming the decision of the trial court that the defendants had agreed to allocate to the plaintiffs alternative plots of land and that Exhibit P25 “would appear to have confirmed the oral evidence of P.W.1 to that effect.”
4. Whether the court below properly evaluated the evidence of the plaintiff before affirming the declaratory judgment of the trial court and granting mandatory injunction compelling the defendants to allocate 549 plots of land to the plaintiffs.

The respondents adopted and relied on the brief deemed filed on 4/6/08 wherein five issues were distilled for determination as follows:-

1. Whether the Court of Appeal was right in holding that the appellants were not denied their constitutional right of fair hearing at the trial court but rather that the appellants were given the opportunity to appear and defend the suit but they failed to avail themselves of the opportunity afforded them.
2. Whether the Court of Appeal was right in affirming the decision of the trial court that there was an urgency by the fact the learned trial Judge was retiring with effect from 1st January 1994 which fact the trial court brought to the knowledge of all the parties and their counsel and that all the parties and their counsel consented to the further hearing of the case being heard during the 1993 Christmas vacation so that the learned trial Judge may complete the case before proceeding on his retirement with effect from 1st January 1994.
3. Whether the Court of Appeal had jurisdiction and competence to hear and determine the application of the respondents dated 12th January, 2000 (hereinafter in this brief referred to as the second application) on the accuracy of the Record be amended as sought thereby so as to make it complete and accurate record in terms thereby sought, notwithstanding that the same court had heard a similar application of the respondents on the same matter on 28th June, 1999 and gave its Ruling thereon on that date refusing the same and whether the Court of Appeal in those circumstances had purported to sit as an appellate court over its aforesaid earlier decision refusing the first application on the same issue.
4. Whether the Court of Appeal was right in affirming the funding of the trial court that the 1st – 4th defendants agreed to allocate alternative plots of land to each of the 549 plaintiffs having regard to the manner in which the plaintiffs were evicted and their structures demolished by the defendants but the defendants breached the said agreement and in holding that Exhibit P25 confirmed the oral evidence of P.W.1 to that effect.
5. Whether whereas as in this present case these concurrent findings of fact in the decision of both the trial High court and the Court of Appeal and where those findings are reasonable, justified and supported by evidence (including in this case Exhibit p25) and the appellants have not shown any special circumstances why the Supreme Court should interfere therewith but it would dismiss the appeal brought to it by the appellants’ against those findings of fact or the two lower courts as lacking in substance.

I intend to be guided by the issues raised for determination by the appellants being succinct statements of the legal argument in this appeal.

Issues one and two were argued together.

Issue One

Whether the court below was right when it held that it was not necessary for any of the parties to bring an application by way of summons for urgent hearing of the case during the court’s Christmas vacation and particularly for the proceedings dated the 29th and 31st of December, 1993.

Issue Two