[2018]DLSC4225 • February 14, 2018 • Supreme Court •
ADISA BOYA vs. ZENABU MOHAMMED (SUBSTITUTED BY ADAMAMOHAMMED) AND MUJEEB
The dispute concerns ownership of a parcel of land claimed by both parties through the Hia Topre stool of Ayigya. The plaintiff claimed title based on a grant and leasehold document obtained in the 1990s, while the defendants claimed through their deceased father who allegedly obtained a prior grant in 1970, took possession, and constructed a residence on the land. The plaintiff accused the defendants of encroachment and secured a conviction of the 1st defendant for obstruction. The defendants counterclaimed ownership based on their father's prior grant and possession.
read moreThe judgment of the Court was read by Gbadegbe, JSC as follows: This is an appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal which reversed the decision of the trial Circuit Court in the action herein. By that decision, the Court of Appeal accepted the case of the Defendants/Appellant/Respondents (Defendants) and rejected that of the Plaintiff/Respondent/Appellant (Plaintiff). As the two lower courts differ in their resolution of the disputed question of fact which turned on the pleadings namely which of the contending parties owns the disputed land, our task in the matter herein is to determine after a careful consideration of the evidence contained in the record of appeal, which of the two decisions truly reflects the effect of the evidence. As there is a conflict of opinion between the trial court and the Court of Appeal, we have to bear in mind that as the trial court was the tribunal of fact, we have to scrutinize the judgment to determine if the conclusion reached on all the evid...