Mr. Ghassan Saidi & Anor V. Mr. Alake Osarobo Ibude (2010)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

ALI ABUBAKAR BABANDI GUMEL, J.C.A.: (Delivering the Leading Judgment)

This is an appeal against the judgment of the Edo State High court in suit No.B/285/2000. The Respondent herein as the plaintiff before the lower court sought for the following reliefs against the Appellants herein, as the Defendants. They are:-

1. A declaration that the plaintiff is the person entitled to a certificate of occupancy in respect of the piece or parcel of land situate, lying and being along Sapele Road, being part of 2nd Defendants along Murtala Muhammed Way, Benin City, a place within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court.
2. Two Hundred Million Naira (N200,000,000.00) general and special damages for the Defendants’ trespass and wanton destruction of the plaintiffs economic crops on the said land as follows:

a) 5,000.00 mature rubber trees at N200.00 from 1990 to the year 2000. N10,000,000.00.

b) 1,000 Bamboo stock at N200.00 each N2,000,000.00.

c) 1,000 Plantain stock at N200.00 each from 1990 to 2000. N2,000,000.00

d) 50 palm trees at N1,000 per tree from 1990 to 2000. N500,000.00 and

e) General damages N185,000,000.00.

Total = N200,000,000.00.

3. Injunction restraining the Defendants their agents servants and/or privies from continuing their trespass on and upon the land of the Plaintiff and;
4. An order for the immediate removal of all structures which the Defendants maintained as part of the said Saidi Hotels Limited on the Plaintiffs land.

Pleadings were duly filed and exchanged. Issues were joined and the matter went to trial. At the trial, documents were tendered and admitted in evidence through respective witnesses in the course of their oral testimonies. While the Respondent gave oral evidence in support of his claim, the Appellants relied on the oral evidence of 4 witnesses. After the evidence of the witnesses respective learned Counsel took turns to address the Court. At the conclusion of addresses the lower Court reserved judgment. In the judgment delivered on 30th November 2004, it found for the Plaintiff when it decided thus:-

“……… the Defendants trespassed into the land of the Plaintiff and therefore entitled to pay damages to the Plaintiff which need not be proved and which I fix and/or assessed at N200,000.00 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira).

The Defendants, their agents’ servants or privies are hereby restrained from continuing their trespass on or upon the land of the Plaintiff.

The Defendants are hereby ordered to remove it, within 30 days all structures on the land of the Plaintiff maintained as part of the 2nd Defendant.” (See page 62 record of Appeal).

Before going into the substance of this appeal, I wish to at this stage to highlight and resolve a very curious and remarkable feature about it, I believe that this is the appropriate stage to introduce and settle the issue. In the course of preparing this judgment I noted that the final addresses of counsel before the lower Court were made on 19th February, 2004 and the matter was adjourned to 2nd April, 2004 for judgment. Judgment was not delivered until 30th November 2004. The judgment itself was dated 22nd November, 2004.

By virtue of the provisions of S.294 (1) of the 1999 constitution judgments in this matter ought to have been delivered within 90 days from 19th February, 2004. There were also no explanations, in the body of the judgment itself accounting for the delay. None of the parties in this appeal made any issue of this failure to comply with the provisions of S.294 (1), Because of the provisions of S. 294(5) we decided to bring this curious feature of the matter to the attention of respective learned counsel and called on them to address the court on it.