Yesufu Oyedoke & Ors. V. The Registrered Trustees of Christ Apostolic Church (2000)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report

ADEKEYE, J.C.A.

This is an appeal against the judgment of Osun State High Court of Justice sitting at Osogbo in suit No. HOST 142/88 delivered on the 19th of July, 1993.

The facts of the case briefly put are that the plaintiffs now respondents before this court sued the defendants now appellants before this court jointly and severally for:-

1. The sum of N50,00 being general damages for trespass committed and being committed by the defendants, their servants, agents and, privies on the plaintiffs’ land and premises at Ede in that sometime in November, 1988, the defendants and their servants, agents or privies wrongfully broke and entered upon the plaintiffs land and premises situate, lying and being at Talafia quarters Ede, Oyo State of Nigeria demolished the plaintiffs cement blocks thereon. The said land and premises have at all times being in the lawful possession of the plaintiffs.
2. A perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, agents and/or privies from further going upon the said land and premises from committing further acts of trespass thereon.

Pleadings were filed and exchanged by the parties. Plaintiffs case in line with their pleadings, was that the land in dispute situate at Talafia quarters, Ede was granted to the Christ Apostolic Church Ede in 1939 by Timi Sanusi Akangbe. The members of the church who requested for the land were Pastor Odubanjo, Apostle Babalola, Prophet Babajide and Pastor Hanson. The plaintiffs erected tents on the land in 1940 for Revival services. In 1942, a small church and vicarage were built on the land. In 1944, a school was founded thereon. In 1949 the plaintiffs commenced the building of a large church on the land and this was extended to accommodate a Bible College in 1953. In 1958, the plaintiffs caused Chief Abolade Coker to survey the land and he produced the plan Exhibit A. He produced the litigation plan Exhibit A1 for the plaintiffs in 1989. In 1967 Oba Laoye the Timi of Ede executed a Deed of Conveyance Exhibit A2 in respect of the disputed land in favour of the plaintiffs. In 1980 the C.A.C Grammar School was established on the land. Ede Local Government encroached on a portion of the land in 1980 to which the plaintiffs protested.

The 3rd defendant witness started to sell portions of the land in 1980, and the 4th defendant witness started to erect a building on the land. The plaintiffs prevented these moves. In 1984 the plaintiff’s erected barbed wire fence round the land. The defendants removed part of the fence to erect foundations of houses on the land. The move was brought to the notice of the police. In 1986 the plaintiffs built the Women Bible College, a Nursery and Primary School, Children’s Church, Hostel and a Hall for Good Women Society on the land in dispute. The plaintiffs improved the land further by erecting a wall fence round it. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th defendants/appellants destroyed a portion of the wall and 400 cement blocks. The incumbent Timi of Ede – Oba Oyewusi Agbonran 11 and the 6th defendant witness testified before the court that prior to the promulgation of the Land Use Act, 1978, all land in Ede was vested in any reigning Timi. Anybody who wants to use land must get a grant from him. That the land in dispute was granted to the plaintiffs by Timi Sanusi Akangbe which was confirmed by the Timi that the disputed land had never been Folarin Family land. The defendants/appellants on their part maintained that the disputed land is Folarin Family land and not Timi Chieftaincy or Stool land. They however admitted that Oba Sanusi Akangbe a member of the Folarin Family granted a parcel of the land verged green in Exhibit C to the plaintiffs sometime ago. Timi Akangbe granted the land to the plaintiffs in his capacity as a principal member of Folarin Family. The defendants/appellants conceded the small portion to the plaintiffs. The appellants denied the trespass alleged to have been committed by them. The 3rd defendant Aliu Dodo stated that the Folarin Family… granted a portion of the land verged yellow on Exhibit C to his grandfather called Eboyomi. The grant was made during the reign of Timi Olanisebe. A plot out of this land was granted to Seidu Raimi, the 6th defendant witness on which he was then erecting a building. Alimi Akinloye, a member of Folarin Family however testified about the grant to the plaintiffs/respondents as an outcome of which their cocoa, palm-trees, kolanut-trees on the land were destroyed without paying compensation to them. The learned trial Judge after consideration of the evidence before him found in favour of the plaintiffs/respondents and ordered as follows:-

1. Judgment in favour of the plaintiffs against the defendants in the sum of N1,000 being general damages for trespass committed by the defendants, their servants, agents or privies on the plaintiff’s land covered by the property plan attached to Exhibit A2.
2. A perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, agents and/or privies from further going upon the said land to commit further acts of trespass thereon:-

Being dissatisfied with this foregoing decision of the learned trial Judge the defendants appealed to this court. The defendants/appellants filed these grounds of appeal herein below stated:-

1. That the learned trial Judge erred in law and on the basis of the native law and custom of tenure of land which was not pleaded.

PARTICULARS OF ERROR

(i) Whereas the learned trial Judge award the possessory title of the land in dispute to the plaintiffs on the basis of the evidence that all the land in Ede is Timi Stool land and it is vested in any reigning Timi who alone can alienate it at his pleasure – that fact was not pleaded.

(ii) Evidence not based on the pleadings before the court should be ignored.

2. The learned trial Judge erred in law to have awarded the title of the land in dispute to the plaintiff on the basis of the conveyance arising from the grant which the learned trial Judge himself found not to have been proved.

PARTICULARS OF ERROR:

(i) Whereas the pleadings and evidence of the plaintiff was to the effect that the land granted to them in 1939 by Oba Sanusi Akangbe the learned trial Judge found that the grant was not proved but he went further to award the title of the land to the plaintiff on the basis of a conveyance executed about 30 years later by another Oba.

(ii) Subsequent deed of conveyance cannot cure a grant that was void and of no effect under native law and custom.

3. The learned trial Judge erred in law to have awarded title to the land in dispute to the plaintiffs who did not show that they have locus standi to institute the action either under the Land (perpetual Succession) Act Cap. 98 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria or of Companies and Allied Matters Decree 1990.

PARTICULARS OF ERROR:

(i) Whereas the plaintiffs by paragraph 1-3 of their statement of claim stated that they are a body corporate registered under the land (perpetual Succession) Act, the defendants by paragraph 2 of their statement of defence denied the fact yet the plaintiffs have failed to prove that they are the Trustees of the Organisation or that they had the consent or authority of the trustees to institute the action.