Umar Fali v. Salome Nelson Ewen (2025)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

NNAMDI OKWY DIMGBA, JCA (Delivering the leading judgment)

This is an appeal against the judgment of the High Court of Justice of Adamawa State, sitting in Yola (trial court) in suit No: ADSY/47/2016 delivered by H. A. Abdulrahman, J on the 31st of March, 2021 wherein the trial court dismissed the appellant’s claim and granted the counterclaim of the respondent.

The notice of appeal that initiated this appeal was filed on 11/11/22 and contains 4 grounds of appeal against the decision of the trial court. The record of appeal was transmitted on 29/03/23 but deemed properly transmitted on 14/03/24, paving the way for the filing of the appellant’s brief of argument on 01/02/24, but deemed as properly filed and served on 20/11/24 and the reply brief on 14/01/25. These were settled by Onyemaechi Ukaegbu, Esq.

The respondent’s brief of argument was filed on 19/11/24, but deemed as properly filed and served on 20/11/24. This was settled by Wahama N. Bello, Esq.

On 20/02/25 when the appeal came up for hearing, the respective counsel adopted their briefs of argument and adumbrated on the same, with the appellant’s counsel urging the court to allow the appeal and set aside the judgment of the trial court, and the respondent’s counsel urging otherwise. The appeal was then reserved for judgment.

Factual background

The brief facts of this appeal are that the appellant suing as plaintiff filed a writ of summons at the trial court on 23/03/16 against the respondent as defendant over a parcel of land located at Government layout, Nyibango Jimeta-Yola Adamawa State, seeking the following reliefs:

1. “A declaration of the honourable court that the plaintiff is in lawful possession and occupation of the developed contingent two plots of land at the Government layout, Nyibango Jimeta-Yola Adamawa State covered by letter of grant No. ADS/24/95 dated May 21, 2014, held by Ibrahim Isa Mustapha and letter of Grant No. ADS/24/20 also dated May, 21st 2014, held by Alh. Bamanga Aliyu, both measuring 1260 square meters and 1496 square meters, respectively.
2. A declaration of the honourable court that the defendant committed acts(s) of trespass on the land when she entered the land and uprooted economic trees planted by the plaintiff and, subsequently, to harass workmen engaged by the plaintiff on the land.
3. An order of court directing the defendant to pay the sum of N19,000.00 (Nineteen thousand naira only) to the plaintiff as special damages for the uprooting of his economic trees on the land.
4. The sum of N10,000,000.00 (Ten million naira only) as general damages for trespass.
5. An order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendant and/or anyone claiming through her, either by themselves, their workers, their servants, their agents and/or privies from trespassing on the said contingent plots of land aforesaid.
6. Cost of this action estimated at N500,000.00 (Five hundred thousand naira only).”

Parties filed and exchanged pleadings. The respondent also, with her statement of defence filed on 20th of June, 2016, incorporated a counterclaim. In the counterclaim, the respondent sought the following reliefs:

1. “A declaration that the counter claimant is entitled to all that portion of land lying and situate at Nyibango Jimeta-Yola measuring 395ft x 395ft.
2. An order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendant to the counterclaimant, his servants, workmen, privies or howsoever called from entering and interfering with the counter-claimant’s portion of land subject matter of this suit.
3. An order of the court directing the defendant to the counterclaim to remove everything planted, built or kept by him on the land subject matter of this suit within 7 (seven) days from the date of judgment in this suit.
4. N800,000.00 (Eight hundred thousand naira) only general damages for trespass.
5. N900,000.00 (Nine hundred thousand naira) only for special damages.
6. Cost of this suit.”

At trial, the appellant called two witnesses (PW1 – PW2) and tendered 8 exhibits, admitted and marked as exhibits A, A1, B, B1, C, C1, D, and E. The respondent called three witnesses (DW1 – DW3) and tendered 7 exhibits, admitted and marked as exhibits F, F1, G, G1, G2, H, and H1.

At the conclusion, the trial Judge upon consideration of all the evidence and submission of counsel, dismissed the claims of the appellant for lacking in merit and granted reliefs 1 to 3 of the counterclaim of the respondent, and also relief 4 on general damages which was reduced to N200,000.00 (Two hundred thousand naira) down from the N800,000.00 (Eight hundred thousand naira) claimed. See pages 199 to 230 of the record for the judgment of the trial court. The court’s final conclusion from all that it had seen was that:

“From the pleadings of the parties, the evidence adduced I am of the view that the counter-claimant has proved the counter-claim against the plaintiff. The evidence of DW3 in particular exhibits F, F1 and G, and G1 are overwhelming; on that strength, the counter-claim succeeds. Even PW1, under cross-examination, admitted that he met a dwarf fence on the disputed land, but never bothered to find out who erected the dwarf fence.”

It is the appellant’s dissatisfaction with the above decision of the trial court that triggered this appeal via the appellate originating processes already identified.

Determination of appeal

In the appellant’s brief of argument, two (2) issues were distilled from the grounds of appeal, namely: