From available facts contained in the printed record of appeal, both the Plaintiffs and the Defendants before the High Court of the then Old Bendel State (trial Court) were of same family i.e. Omovwiare family of Igwrekpokpo village in Ughelli Local Government Area. The Plaintiffs claimed to sue for themselves and on behalf of the said family. The Defendants were sued in their individual capacities. They denied that the Plaintiffs were suing on behalf of Omovwiare family as the Plaintiffs did not seek or had the consent of that family. The dispute was on land which formed part of Ugbusi land situated and lying in Ugheli Local Government Area. The Plaintiff claimed that some portions of the land were sold or leased by the Defendants to various persons for which the sum of over N50,000.00 (fifty thousand naira) was received by the Defendants and shared among themselves to the exclusion of other members of Omovwiare family. The land, according to the Plaintiffs contained Plaintiffs' and other members of that family's rubber plantations; fish ponds; Plaintiffs' buildings, juju shrine, cassava plants; fish traps and many other crops. Plaintiffs and other members of Omovwiare family and their maternal ancestor, Imohkwe, had undisturbed enjoyment and possession of the said land until 1977 when the Defendants challenged the rights of the 1st Plaintiff and Ediri Etajata rubber plantation to one Japan for building purposes. The land in dispute was founded by Imohkwe from time immemorial and was the first person to set foot on and to occupy the land when it was virgin forest. The Appellants claimed further that the said Imohkwe shared the Ughusi land and gave part to his daughter called Omovwiare and the remaining part to his other child called Itoto. Both Plaintiffs and Defendants are descendants of Omovwiare.

The Plaintiffs claimed also that in 1960, there was a dispute between members of Omovwiare family and Itoto family over the boundary between their respective portions of the land. The dispute was settled on the 13th of August, 1960. After the settlement, the Defendants told the Plaintiffs and other family members that they, Defendants as representatives of Omovwiare family would meet members of the Itoto family for the settlement terms to be put into writing and signed by the representatives of both families so as to avoid future boundary disputes. The Defendants, according to the Plaintiffs, instead of drawing up terms of settlement with the representatives of Itoto family, surreptitiously entered into an agreement dated the 1st day of April, 1961 with some members of the Itoto family which agreement purported to transfer the title in the said land to Defendants exclusively. The Defendants, Plaintiffs further alleged, had since then kept the said agreement away from the Plaintiffs and other members of Omovwiare family until early in 1977 when the 1st Plaintiff and his mother tried to sell a portion of the said land to one Japan. The Defendants fraudulently prevented the Plaintiffs and other members of Omovwiare family from having interest in and share of the proceeds from the sales of the various plots. They also refused to render account of the sale proceeds. The Plaintiffs pleaded the particulars of the fraud alleged.

Now, because of the Defendants refusal to give account of the proceeds of the sales of the land for their refusal as well to share such proceeds, the Plaintiffs resorted to filing of this suit.

The matter proceeded to hearing at the end of which the trial Court granted partially, the Plaintiffs' reliefs in the following terms:

Defendants were dissatisfied with the decision of the trial Court and appealed to the Court of Appeal, Benin Division which dismissed the appeal and affirmed the trial Court's judgment except for relief (1) which was varied to read:-