The appellant's claim against the respondent was for declaration of title to land, injunction and damages.

Pleadings were duly filed and exchanged by the parties. At the hearing, the appellant gave evidence and called no witness. The respondent, on the other hand, called three witnesses but did not give evidence.

The appellant's case is that he is the customary owner by purchase of a parcel of land situate and lying at Oke-Odo-Okun Saw Mill Area, Ilorin. The land was originally owned by the family of Fagba. At the time he purchased the land, the head of Fagba family was one Usman Oloda Alfa. The said Usman Alfa is now dead. The appellant claimed that he knew Alhaji Abdul Rahaman Magaji. He was at the relevant time, the caretaker of Fagba family lands.

It is his evidence that in 1976, he obtained an approved site plan Ex P1 for the land. Later, on the 9th July, 1976, he obtained an alienation permit Ex P2, from the Ilorin Local Government Authority. Thereafter, he bought bags of cement, cement blocks, gravel, sharp sand, for building on the land. He tendered Exs P3 to P6 the receipts which were issued to him for the materials he purchased. With the materials, he built a fence wall and constructed the foundation of the proposed building up to DPC level on part of the land. He could not continue the building because of lack of funds. He occasionally visited the site after he had stopped building.

In 1992, he discovered that unknown persons had trespassed into the land and commenced building thereon. On enquiry, he was told that the respondent was one of the trespassers. He talked to the other trespasser who withdrew from the land after he had seen his papers. The respondent refused to withdraw. He instituted an action against the respondent, the subject matter of this appeal.

The first witness for the Defendant was his wife. She gave evidence as to how Alhaji Abdul Rahaman Mogaji sold a parcel of land at Oke-Odo-Okun Saw Mill Area, Ilorin to her and the Defendant. She tendered Ex D1 and agreement entered into between them and the vendor.

It is her evidence that apart from Okro and vegetables planted by one Alhaji Baba Shedu they met on the land, there was nothing else on the land. They advised Alhaji Baba shedu to harvest his crops as they wanted to commence building. It is her evidence that they commenced the building in 1990, after they had prepared the site plan. In 1991, they obtained a government approval for the building. She denied that land belonged to Alhaji Usman Oloda Alfa.

The other two witnesses confirmed that there was nothing on the land before the Defendant started his building. The 2nd witness claimed that he did the setting of the building at the site. The third witness who is a staff of the Town Planning Authority gave evidence that his office carried out an inspection of the site before it approved ExD2.

At the close of the trial and after addresses, by the learned Counsel for the parties, the learned trial Judge in a reserved judgment dismissed the Plaintiffs claim.