Sule Mamman & Ors V. Adamu Garba Kofar-bai (2015)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

UWANI MUSA ABBA AJI, J.C.A. (Delivering the leading Judgment)

This is an appeal against the judgment of the Katsina State High Court, sitting at Katsina, delivered by Hon. Justice Abdullahi Yusuf (The chief Judge) on the 5th day of March, 2014. The Appellants commenced this action in the lower Court in Suit No. KTH/17/2013 against the Respondent and their claims were as follows:

a. A declaration that the house situated at Kofar-Bai quarters near Hamdana Mosque close to Magatakarda’s house bordering from east by the main road, from the north by Alh. Tijjani’s house from the south by the house of Lawal Na Gambarawa from the west bordering the house of Kabir MaiGyaran Radio is the property of the Plaintiffs by virtue of inheritance from their late father Mamman Garba.

b. An order directing the Defendant to quit from the said house the subject of this litigation and give quite possession to the Plaintiffs forthwith.

c. An order of perpetual injunction restraining the Defendant, his servants, representatives and privies from interfering with the quite possession and ownership of the said house.

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d. N500,000.00 (Five hundred thousand naira only)

The Appellants who were Plaintiffs at the lower Court are siblings and children of Late Mamman Garba, while the Respondent is the Appellants’ Late father’s brother. It is the case of the Appellants that the property, the subject matter of litigation belongs to their late father, Mamman Garba, who bought same from Alhaji Magaji Unguwar Jaji about 50 years ago at the cost of $13:10s. It is their case that their later father developed and lived on the said property throughout his life time with his family.

That after the demise of their late father, his estate was distributed among his heirs who were his father, wife, and three (3) children by Area Court II, Katsina, Presided by Alhaji Lawal Boyi in Suit No. 400/89 between M. BADAMAGARE KOFAR-BAI AND MARYAM HASSAN SABUWAR KASUWA. It is the Appellants’ case that the Respondent lived with their father for over 19 years.

The Respondent denied the Appellants’ assertion and argued that the property in issue was bought and developed by their late father, Mallam Garba Badamagare, who divided same into three (3) portions; a portion was developed

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for the Appellants’ father when he was getting married and one portion was developed for the Respondent when he was getting married while the other portion was left for rearing of animals. It was his case that the Appellants’ father lived with his family on the portion of the land that was developed for him by his father and that Suit No. 400/98 was between M. Badamagare Kofar-Bai and Maryam Hassan Sabuwar Kasuwa and has no bearing to the title in issue. He claimed that the distribution of estate by Area Court II was done to such an extent of estate owned by the Appellants’ father and that the grandfather of the Appellants (Malam Garba Badamagare) who was an heir to his son, Mamman Badamagare said he had waived his share to his grandchildren and that they should own the part of the house as owned by their father. He finally stated that they are consanguine brothers with the Appellants’ father and every one lived in his own apartment peacefully.

At the hearing of the case, the Appellants called five (5) witnesses and tendered two exhibits while the Respondent called eight (8) witnesses and closed his case.

?It is against this background that the