CaseLaw
Ogunbadejo V. Owoyemi (1993) CLR 1© (SC)
Judgement delivered on 29th January, 1993
Brief
Facts
The defendant (who is now the appellant before us), is the head of the Kingmakers to the Dagburewe of Idowa Chieftaincy. At all times relevant to this action, that is, 1982, there was a vacancy in the chieftaincy. The plaintiff (who is now the respondent before us) and one Alhaji Yinusa Adekoya were nominated by the Agbonmagbe Ruling House to fill the vacancy. The kingmakers met and made a recommendation to the Governor of Ogun State. Protests followed and the State Government set up an administrative Panel to look into the dispute. Meanwhile one B.O. Akala of the Arijeloye Royal family of ldowahad on 6th September, 1982, written a letter to the plaintiff, a copy of which was sent to the defendant. During the proceedings of the fact finding administrative Panel set up by the Ogun State Government, the defendant produced his own copy of the said letter and handed it over to the chairman of the panel. The chairman read out the letter at the Inquiry and admitted it in evidence. It is the contents of this letter that the plaintiff complained of in the subsequent action instituted by him against the defendant as constituting libel of him. He claimed N500,000.00 damages in the said action. At the hearing of the action, the plaintiff, in proof of the alleged libel, tendered in evidence a certified true copy of the report of the fact finding administrative panel. The report at page 119 of it contains a reproduction of the letter containing the alleged defamatory words. Defendant's counsel objected to the admissibility of this report but was over-ruled. He also objected to the admissibility of page 119 of the report containing the reproduction of the said letter. He was also overruled. The report was admitted in evidence as Exhibit A-A139 and page 119 of it as Exhibit A119. The defendant led no evidence at the trial at the conclusion of which, after addresses by learned counsel for the parties, the learned trial Judge found for the plaintiff and awarded him N5,000.00 damages.
The defendant was displeased with this judgment and appealed to the Court of Appeal. The plaintiff who was aggrieved as to the quantum of damages filed a respondent's Notice to vary the award of damages by increasing same. The Court of Appeal dismissed the defendant's appeal and after holding that the plaintiff could not come by way of a Respondent's Notice to vary an award of damages, struck out the notice filed by the plaintiff. Both parties are aggrieved by the decision of the Court of Appeal and have appealed to this court.