MR. Tunji Adigun V. Ibadan North Local Government (2016)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

OBIETONBARA DANIEL-KALIO, J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment)

This appeal is over the judgment of the High Court of Oyo State in a land matter. The facts before the lower Court as pleaded in the Statement of Claim show that the Appellant Tunji Adigun (the Claimant in the lower Court) applied to the Ibadan North Local Government (the defendant in the lower Court) for the allocation of a piece of land to him. Consequent upon the application, the respondent granted the Appellant an allocation of land by way of a lease.

The land is at Block/quarters 87, plot 2, Agodi GRA, Agodi, Ibadan. The appellant was requested to pay the sum of N87,000 for the allocation. He paid it and was issued with a Treasury Receipt No. A720774 of the Ibadan North Local Government dated 22/11/2002. Having paid the required fee, the appellant bought building materials preparatory to carrying out building construction work on the land. It was at that stage that he met a brick wall.

The respondent refused to give him possession of the land. All pleas by him to the respondent to be allowed to take possession of the land failed. As a result, he instructed his lawyer to write to the

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respondent on the matter. That too failed. All efforts having failed, the appellant approached the lower Court for redress.

By a writ of summons filed on his behalf at the lower Court, (the High Court of Oyo State) the appellant sought the following remedies:

“1. An order of specific performance ordering the defendant to execute a Deed of sublease of the land Block/Quarters plot B7, Plot 2, Agodi GRA, Ibadan in favor of the Claimant.

2. An order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendant whether by its agents, servants, or assignees from committing any act of trespass on the said land.
3. N1,000,000.00 general damages against the defendant for the continued trespass on the said plot of land.”

The Respondent disputed the claims of the Appellant. In its defence, it pleaded that the land in dispute was released to it only in 2008 by the Oyo State Government. It pleaded that following that release, it had since allocated the property to one Mr. Fola Owolabi for a term of 75 years. It pleaded that it doubted the authenticity of the documents relied on by the appellant in proof of his claim to allocation of the land insisting that it had

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no record of any such transaction with the appellant. It went on to plead that the appellants claim was based on fraud.

After hearing the case of the parties, the learned trial judge gave judgment in favour of the respondent. He held that the appellant had not proved that the respondent allocated the land to him as claimed by the appellant. The learned trial judge dismissed all the claims of the appellant. Upset by the judgment the appellant on 9/5/14 filed a Notice of Appeal. He challenged the judgment of the learned trial judge on six grounds. The grounds without the particulars thereof are as follows:

“GROUND ONE

The learned trial judge erred in law to shift the burden of proof on allegation of fraud on the appellant by holding that: “Tendering of document alone is not conclusive of transaction, if the document is disputed then it is necessary for the document to be proved to have origin and legitimate existence and traceable to have emanated from the defendant. The document Exhibit B is claimed to have been signed by Mr. Akinkunmi, Director of Estate and Valuation; the Deputy Director of Estate and Valuation called denied the document