Oodo Ogoyi V. Emmanuel Umagba & Anor. (1995)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

OGWUEGBU, J.S.C.

The appellant who was plaintiff in the High Court of Justice, Benue State instituted an action against the respondents as defendants in the said court claiming the following reliefs in paragraph 13 of his statement of claim:

“‘3(i) A declaration that the plaintiff was and is the only person selected or elected as the Otukpa District Head by the people competent to do the selection or election.

(ii) A perpetual injunction restraining the 1st defendant, his agents or servants from further posing or parading himself as District Head of Otukpa; and

(iii) A perpetual injunction restraining the 2nd defendant, his agents and servants from regarding or treating the 1st defendant as District Head of Otukpa.”

After the exchange of pleadings, the case proceeded to trial and in the end, the plaintiff’s claim was dismissed. His appeal to the Court of Appeal was equally dismissed. He has further appealed to this court.

The facts of the case are that Otukpa District had three clans, namely, Ai Oodo. Ai Achagbaha and Ai Owuno and that Otukpa chieftaincy stool rotates among these three clans. From the evidence, it was the turn of Ai Owuno clan to provide a candidate to fill the vacancy created by the death of the last District Head, Aba Ogangwu who hailed from Ai Achagbaha clan.

The appellant and the 1st respondent are members of Ai Owuno clan but from different kindreds in the twelve kindreds that make up the clan. Both parties disagreed on the procedure for selection of a candidate and on the qualification of such a candidate.

It was the plaintiff’s case that he was selected by the members of Ai Owuno clan and that selection should be by members of Ai Owuno clan alone. That after his selection, he was presented to Onu Ogbeche (p.W.2), the oldest person in Ai Owuno. He was not presented to Och’Idoma before P.W.2 was written by Okpokwu Local Government to summon all the elders and kingmakers from the three clans to assemble at Otukpa District Headquarters on 4:8:82 to select their District Head.

The plaintiff gave evidence that in the past any person to be selected as a candidate for the headship of the district must be a beaded clan head but the custom had changed.

The 1st defendant’s evidence was that the selection of a candidate had to be done by the elders and kingmakers of the three clans and that it is still the custom that such a candidate must be a beaded clan head. It was the case of the 1st defendant that he was a clan head and he was selected by the elders and kingmakers of the three clans at Otukpa as the District Head in an exercise which he and the plaintiff contested.

It was in evidence that on 4:8:82 the officials of Okpokwu Local Government Council comprising the then Gubernatorial Liaison Officer (Mr. G.A. Ogwuche), the Acting Local Government and Social Development Secretary (Mr. M.B. Amah), the Information Officer (Mr. E.I. Okpe), the then Okpokwu Local Government Secretary (M r. T. N. Anoh) and the then Secretary to Idoma Traditional Council (Mr. F. Okoh) arrived at Otukpa District Headquarters for the selection of the District Head. Mr. Anah, the Okpokwu Local Government Secretary called on the elders and kingmakers to select a candidate of their choice to be their District Head. P.W.2 nominated and presented the plaintiff. One Igoche Idoko presented the 1st defendant as the rightful person to be their District Head. The elders and kingmakers were advised to select only one candidate. Six elders/kingmakers led by their heads were selected from each clan to go into consultation. They retired and on their return, they conveyed the result of their consultation to the officials present and the general public that the 1st defendant was the eligible candidate to be appointed the Otukpa District Head in succession to Aba Ogangwu on the ground that by custom and tradition of Otukpa people regarding the appointment of a District Head, only a beaded clan Head from the clan whose turn it is to present a candidate is eligible to be so appointed.

There was no objection by any body including P.W.2 who earlier nominated the plaintiff and took part in the consultation. The officials left at the end of the exercise. The approval of the Governor of Benue State to the appointment or the 1st defendant as the District Head of Otukpa was conveyed to the 1st defendant by the Idoma Traditional Council. The plaintiff instituted the action leading to this appeal after the approval of the 1st defendant by the Governor.

The learned trial Judge, Ochimana, J. dismissed the claim of the plaintiff and concluded as follows in his judgment: