The plaintiff is the son of one Aina Coker the wife of one J.K. Coker. The land in dispute shown on Plan marked Exhibit C at the proceedings originally belonged to the defendants family. The defendants' family allegedly granted a large portion of their land including the land in dispute to one J.K. Coker in 1890. In 1912 Coker sold a portion of his land to his wife Aina Coker who went into possession and farmed thereon. On the death of Aina in 1957, the plaintiff and other members of her family succeeded to the land. Sometimes in 1976 the defendants and members of their family came to disturb the plaintiff on the said land, hence the action leading to this appeal. In order to understand plaintiff's case. I will set out the relevant paragraphs of the plaintiffs amended Statement of claim.

The plaintiff is the only surviving son of Madam Aina Coker (deceased) and takes this action for himself and on behalf of the grandchildren of the said late Madam Aina Coker.

The land in dispute was part of the vast acres of a farmland that belonged to the obawole Family absolutely under Yoruba Native Law and Customs. In consideration of the friendship that existed between the late - Jacob Kehinde Coker and the Obawole Family particular in consideration the financial help given by the said Jacob Kehinde Coker to the Obawole Family in effecting the roofing with corrugated Iron Sheets of the Obawole Family House at Otta, the Obawole Family granted a large parcel of land of which the land in dispute forms a portion to Jacob Kehinde Coker absolutely under Yoruba Native law and Custom. The said customary grant was made openly by the Obawole Family in the presence of witnesses and they blessed the grantee J.K. Coker aforesaid on the land with the gin, kolanuts, alligator pepper presented by the said J. K. Coker for the said purpose.

The late Jacob kehinde continued to exercise open and unhindered acts of ownership and possession on the land granted to him as aforesaid by selling portions of the land and farming on the rest and in particular.

Then later, late Madam Aina Coker exercised ownership on the land, planting and cultivating more food crops on the land in addition to the existing Cocoa and Kolanut tree bought along with the land. In 1940 she let part of the said land to one Matthew Olufemi who remained there with his wife Mrs,. Janet Tinula Olufemi, until his death in 1951 and since which time the said Mrs. Janet Tinuola Olufemi had remained in possession thereof with her daughter-Morenike Olufemi until the date hereof.

In 1973 the plaintiff cleared about two acres of the land in front along Isheri Road planning cassava and other food crops on the land with the consent of the tenant Mrs. Janet Tinuola Olufemi and because this former part of her holding, the plaintiff reduced her rent by twenty five per cent (25%).

The plaintiff continued to exercise ownership on the land without disturbance either from the tenant or anybody until 27th March, 1976 when the said Mrs. Janet Tinuola Olufemi and her sub-tenant Mr. Mustapha Oloyede entered upon the land in dispute and destroyed the plaintiff's cassava plants and other economic crops on the land in dispute.

IThe defendants argued that the land in dispute forms portions of land the absolute property from time immemorial according to Yoruba Native Law and Customs of the Obawole-Aina Arupe Family (other wise known an called the Dada Adedipe Family). The original owner of the land was one Dada Adedipe a hunter who hailed from ile-ife and who was the first person to settle on the large area of land (including the land edged in yellow on the plan attached by the plaintiff to his statement of claim and filed therewith) about 300 years ago. He had children and grandchildren.

History was traced through the generations to the Dada Adedipe family has in the past seventy years been popularly known and referred to as the obawole-Aina Arupe family as it was in the time of obawole who was a powerful man in his days and who had no male relation that the family crystallised.

Dada Adedipe and his descendants have always been in full and effective possession of their family land including the land in issue.

The defendants are members of and the heads and accredited representative of the Obawole-Aina Arupe family in this action. The defendants admit the possessory right of the said Jacob Kehinde Coker as a customary tenant to the defendants in respect of some neighbouring parcel of land.

They denied the grant of the land in dispute to Coker and claimed he was a customary tenant of theirs in respect of another piece of land Questions (a) & (b).

In a reserved judgment, the court dismissed plaintiff's claims and found for the defendants on their counter-claim declaring them the absolute owners under Yoruba Native Law and Custom of the land in dispute.

Dissatisfied with the judgment, plaintiff appealed to the Court of Appeal which set aside the judgment of the trial court and entered judgment for the plaintiff in terms of his claims except the claim for trespass which was dismissed. The defendant's counter-claim was dismissed.

It is against this judgment that the appellants have now appealed to the Supreme Court.