The plaintiffs' case was that the land in dispute called "Okpu-dor" - meaning an ancestral home, was originally owned by their ancestor "Igwe-lazu" and that it had always been from time now out of memory, that of their family. It was also their case that a portion of the land called 'Ugbo' was given to the de-fendant’s ancestors by their ancestors for a specific purpose, and by the terms of the grant, the defendants were not permitted to farm or plant any crops on the land granted to them. The defendants consistently kept strictly to the terms of the grant until 1963 when, without the plaintiffs' permission, they entered the said land, destroyed the plaintiffs' economic trees thereon and started planting cassava and cocoyam trees on the land. The plaintiffs pleaded various acts of ownership over the land in dispute and led evidence in support of their pleadings.

The defendants' case was that the land in dispute, called 'Ugbo' was founded by their ancestor Ogwu, the son of Onyo, and that it had always been, since time immemorial, in exclusive possession of the family passing from one generation to another until it devolved on the defendants. It was also their case that the land on which the plaintiffs built their houses was in fact given to the plaintiffs' ancestors by the ancestors of the defendants when the plaintiffs left their original village Abo-rikpo to settle with the defendants. Like the plaintiffs, the defendants also pleaded various acts of ownership and called evidence in support of their pleadings.

The learned trial Judge reviewed the evidence adduced by the parties and upheld the plaintiffs' claim.

An appeal was brought and the court agreed with the defendants and allowed the appeal, ordering a retrial of the case. The plaintiffs then appealed to the Supreme Court.