CaseLaw
Owoade V. Omitola (1988) CLR 5(d) (SC)
Judgement delivered on May 6th, 1988
Brief
Facts
In a nutshell, the plaintiff’s case before the High Court was that he purchased the land in dispute from Eleruko line, a branch of Alasoro family of Foko, Ibadan, that the land was part of Alasoro Family land which was granted to them by Alaran of Alaran family. The purchase was evidenced by a deed of conveyance registered as No. 13 at p 13 in Vol. 334 of the Register and dated 25th day of August 1959. It also averred that early in 1959 the descendants of Alasoro and Eleruko partitioned their land and that it was part of Eleruko’s share that was sold to him. Since the purchase he has been in effective and continuous possession of the land in dispute. As part of their acts of ownership they permitted one Osa Salako to farm on part of the land now in dispute on conditions that he planted only food crops and paid “Isakole” to them. They averred that Salako died without an issue, and so the land reverted to his grantees.
The Defendants case was that the land in dispute measuring approximately 5,314 acres originally belonged to one Adeleke Aregbeomo who was granted the land by one Salako in March, 1926, as per a memorandum, Exh. D2 Salako himself had received a tract of land which included the land in dispute as an absolute grant by custom from Alasoro and exercised all acts of ownership thereon until he sold a portion of it to Adeleke who thereafter exercised acts of ownership over the land until he died and the land devolved on his children. Adeleke’s children sold the land to the 1st defendants as per a deed of conveyance dated the 18th day of October, 1960 and registered as No. 45 in Vol. 409 of the register of Deeds, Ibadan. Contrary to the plaintiffs’ case they averred that Salako had a son, a daughter, and a grandson and gave their names. Finally they stated that the children of Salako purported to sell and convey the land because they did not know that their father had sold and conveyed it to Adeleke for valuable consideration.
After trial the learned judge, Ogundere, J. (as he then was) entered judgment for the plaintiff and granted to him a declaration of title and a perpetual injunction. He also awarded N50.00 as damages for trespass against the Defendant. On appeal to the Court of Appeal, Ibadan, the appeal was dismissed. The Defendants (hereinafter called the Appellants) appealed.