THOMPSON vs. THOMPSON

The plaintiff and defendant, both Yoruba residents in Ghana, are children of two brothers. The plaintiff's father, S. A. Thompson, died intestate in Ghana in 1960, leaving several properties in Accra and bank accounts. The defendant, son of E. B. Thompson Sr., also deceased, was a joint administrator of S. A. Thompson's estate along with the plaintiff and others. The plaintiff claimed beneficial ownership of certain properties and sought an account of rents, injunction against the defendant's dealings with the properties, and surrender of title deeds. The defendant contended that under a varied Yoruba customary law applicable to Yorubas resident in Ghana, the estate should be split half to the children and half to the paternal family, relying on a 1961 family meeting and earlier Ghanaian court judgments. The plaintiff argued that the personal law of the deceased, Yoruba customary law, entitles the children to the entire estate. The dispute centered on the applicable customary law of succession and the validity of the 1961 distribution meeting and prior Ghanaian judgments.