Moses Uzochukwu & Ors. V. Madam Amaghalu Eri & Ors. (1997)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

I. IGUH, J.S.C. 

This is an appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Enugu Division, which had on the 15th day of November, 1988 dismissed the appeal by the plaintiffs from the decision of Ubaezonu, J., as he then was, sitting at Enugu in the High Court of the former Anambra State of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The plaintiffs, for themselves and on behalf of the people of Elugwu/Nkpokolo Village of Achi had instituted an action jointly and severally against the 1st to the 11th defendants, for themselves and on behalf of Nzubeka Oganiru Achi Meeting and the 12th to the 14th defendants, for themselves and on behalf of the people of Agbadala Village in Achi town, claiming as subsequently amended as follows:-

“(i) A declaration that plaintiffs are entitled to the grant of the customary right of occupancy of part of the larger piece and parcel of land known as and called “Ani Agu Nwaeke” situate at Elugwu/Nkpokolo village, Achi in Oji River Local Government Area, more particularly delineated in Plan No. EP/AN525LD/83 verged red and filed with this statement of claim;

(ii) N50,000.00 damages for the alleged trespass;

(iii) Perpetual injunction restraining the defendants their servants, agents and privies from further acts of trespass on the said land or doing anything whatsoever on the said land, without the prior consent and authority of the plaintiffs.”

Pleadings were ordered in the suit and were duly settled, filed and exchanged.

At the subsequent trial, the parties testified on their own behalf and called witnesses. The plaintiffs predicated their title to the land in dispute on traditional evidence, acts of ownership and possession over and in respect of the land in dispute and possession of adjoining or adjacent land in circumstances which rendered it probable that they were also the owners of the land in dispute. They further pleaded and relied on the Achi Native Court Suit No. 64/1928 with the review thereof by F.H. Ingles, Esq. resident Onitsha Province.

The defendants, for their part, claimed that the 1st to the 11th defendants were on the land in dispute on the authority of the people of Agbadala village who, in this action, are represented by the 12th, 13th and the 14th defendants. It was their case that the land in dispute had from time immemorial been the bonafide property of the said people of Agbadala village who had always exercised various acts of ownership and possession over the same, as owners thereof, without any let or hindrance from anyone whatever. The defendants claimed they had their Ngwu shrine in the Agu Ihuezi Chimilem Agbadala land, part of which was in dispute. They denied that the plaintiffs were entitled as claimed.

At the conclusion of hearing, the learned trial Judge after a careful review of the evidence on the 23rd day of September, 1985 dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims in their entirety.

Dissatisfied with this decision of the trial court, the plaintiffs lodged an appeal against the same to the Court of Appeal, Enugu Division. The Court of Appeal in a unanimous judgment on the 15th day of November, 1988 dismissed the plaintiffs’ appeal.

Aggrieved by this decision of the Court of Appeal, the plaintiffs have now appealed to this court. I shall hereinafter refer to the plaintiffs and the defendants in this judgment as the appellants and the respondents respectively.

Three grounds of appeal were filed by the appellants against this decision of the Court of Appeal. It is unnecessary to reproduce them in this judgment. It suffices to state that the parties pursuant to the Rules of this court, filed and exchanged their written briefs of argument.

The two issues distilled from the appellants’ grounds of appeal set out on their behalf for the determination of this appeal are as follows:-