The plaintiffs/appellants case is that the defendants/respondents and themselves have common ancestors from Aina Aisho. After giving traditional evidence and tracing the genealogical tree from Olaitan, they said that when the respondents put I a claim for compensation to NEPA in respect of damage done to the land in dispute, they protested. NEPA was warned not to pay the compensation to the defendants alone as the land damaged belonged to Onigbeyin Family of which the appellants were the male descendants. All their efforts to stop the payment of the compensation to the respondents failed. At the end of the day, the sum of N95, 000.00 was paid to the respondents. This was after the Supreme Court litigation in suit No. SC 3987/75. They now asks for half of that amount, which arithmetically comes to N47,500.00.

On the other hand, the case of the respondents is that the land in dispute is exclusively the property of the family – Madarikan family. They also gave traditional evidence tracing their genealogical trees from Olaitan, who they claimed migrated from Abeokuta. Olaitan died leaving him surviving, Madarikan and Otale. According to their evidence, Otale died childless and so Madarikan inherited the entire land. That, briefly was the case of the 1st to 4th respondents.

The 5th respondent in his evidence said that Madarikan was his grandfather and that Madarikan was begat by Olaitan. While agreeing that he does not know the history of the Onigbehin family, he disagreed that the land is referred to as Onigbehin land.

The trial Judge found the evidence of the plaintiffs contradictory and he concluded that they failed to discharge the burden placed on them by law. He dismissed the plaintiffs claim.

Dissatisfied, the plaintiffs appealed.