Ornguze Alom V. Peter Amenger (1997)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report

OGUNTADE, J.C.A.

T

he appellant was the plaintiff before the Grade I Area Court of Tombo sitting at Buruku, Benue State. He claimed against the respondent as the defendant the ownership of a farmland at Mbaya Tombo and also for an injunction. Parties are hereinafter referred to as ‘plaintiff’ and’ defendant’ which is the same description they bore before the trial court.

The defendant pleaded not liable to the claim of the plaintiff. He claimed that the farmland in dispute was his own. The parties testified and called their witnesses. The trial court visited the land in dispute took further evidence from ‘elders’. On 20/5/87, it gave its judgment wherein plaintiff’s case was dismissed.

The plaintiff brought an appeal against the judgment on only one ground of appeal which reads:-

‘The decision of the trial Area Court is unreasonable, unwarranted and cannot be supported having regard to the weight of evidence adduced before it.”

On 22 February, 1989, the Benue State High Court (coram: Ogebe and Ogbole JJ) in its appellate jurisdiction, sitting at Gboko heard the appeal. It gave its judgment immediately after hearing the appeal on 22/2/89. The judgment is brief. I reproduce it in full:

“The appellant sued the respondent in the Grade 1 Area Court Buruku claiming a piece of land lost. (sic) Against that decision the appellant has appealed on, the general ground and the learned counsel for the appellant has been at pains to show that the decision is unreasonable.

We have read the trial court’s record and we do not need to listen to respondent’s counsel. Nothing has been shown to cause us to disturb the decision of the trial court. It is our view that the judgment of the trial court has not been shown to be perverse, we have no business interfering with it. We see no merit whatsoever in this appeal and it is hereby dismissed.”

Against the above judgment of the lower court, the plaintiff has brought a further appeal to this court on four grounds of appeal. The respondent has filed a notice of preliminary objection challenging the competence of all the grounds of appeal. It is therefore necessary that I re-produce in full the grounds of appeal.

They read:

GROUNDS OF APPEAL

1. The decision is against the weight of evidence
2. The lower court misdirected itself in law and on the facts in upholding the decision of the trial Area Court which was based on materially conflicting pieces of evidence.

PARTICULARS OF MISDIRECTION BOTH IN LAW AND ON THE FACTS

(a) The respondent as defendant in the court of trial swore that “…where I erected a house is an old settlement of one Anakyo the same sub-kindred with me ..” while at the locus in quo he stated that “The old settlement shown by plaintiff as being that of Akper Angwe belongs to my sister named Akaahembe and that’s why I erected a house there also ..” where plaintiff is currently erecting a house is the old settlement of my consanguine brother named Awaikyo. The place I built a house in the south belongs to my consanguine brother’s old settlement – Emberga.”