[1962]DLHC1339 • March 30, 1962 • High Court
AMEODA vs. PORDIER (CONSOLIDATED)
The case concerns a land dispute in Ningo involving claims over ownership and control of land between the plaintiff's family and the defendants. The plaintiff claimed exclusive ownership of the land through ancestral acquisition by Asafoatse Blebo, asserting that no subject outside his family could occupy the land without consent. The defendants, however, claimed possessory rights as subjects of the Ningo stool, occupying and using the land for generations. The dispute involved customary land tenure, the role of the Ningo Mantse (chief), and the nature of stool land ownership in the Adangbe area.
read moreJUDGMENT OF OLLENNU, J. [His lordship summarised the point at issue as set out in the headnote and continued:] The plaintiff led evidence that in the olden days, the lands round Ningo were infested with dangerous wild beasts, and any Asafoatse or hunter who was able to kill the wild beasts or animals over an area of land settled thereon and became owner of the area he so occupied; that in that way the different quarters or tribes of Ningo acquired the lands in Ningo and became absolute owners thereof, and so there are no stool lands in Ningo, all the lands are vested in the quarters or tribes absolutely. The plaintiff said that the land in dispute was acquired by his ancestor, one Asafoatse Blebo, and it therefore belongs exclusively to his family, and no subject of the Ningo state who is not a member of his family could settle on or occupy portion of the land without their prior consent or permission. Other witnesses supported the evidence given by the plaintiff in that regard. ...