Ibadan Local Governments Properties Company Limited & Ors V. Mr. David Okunade (2004)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report

SAKA ADEYEMI IBIYEYE, J.C.A.

This is an appeal brought against the judgment of Akinola J. of the Ibadan Judicial Division of the High Court of Justice of Oyo State, delivered on the 19th day of July, 1999, in which the reliefs sought by the plaintiff against the defendants were allowed.

The reliefs sought by the plaintiff are set out in paragraph 14 of the amended statement of claim. The said reliefs which are jointly and severally against the defendants are as follows:
“1. A declaration that the action of the 1st defendant who is the successor – in -title of Ibadan Metropolitan Town Planning Authority in depriving the plaintiff a right of hearing before ordering the demolition of the plaintiff’s property situate at Oke Ogbere, off Akanran Road, Ibadan, on 23/1/89 or thereabout is a violation of the plaintiff’s civil rights as entrenched in the Nigerian Constitution.

2. An order for the payment of the sum of N162,980.00 (One hundred and sixty two thousand nine hundred and eighty Naira) being special and general damages suffered by the plaintiff, when the 1st defendant through the 2nd to 4th defendants, their servants and/or agents wrongfully demolished part of the plaintiff’s building erected on his land at Oke-Ogbere, off Akanran Road, Ibadan, on or about 23-1-89.

3. An order for injunction restraining the defendants, their servants, agents and privies from further demolishing the remaining part of the plaintiff’s said building.”

In their joint statement of defence of twelve paragraphs, which are replete with denials of the averments in the amended statement of claim in their ultimate paragraph stated:
“12. Whereof the defendants aver that this action is speculative, gold digging, without merit and ought to be dismissed with substantial costs.”

In order to appreciate the judgment appealed against, I shall briefly state its antecedents. Thus, the plaintiff testified and called three witnesses. The defendants on their part called only two witnesses which included the 2nd defendant

The plaintiff testifying as the PW1 said that he and his friend – Lamidi Ajao – (the P.W3) bought a parcel of land at Oke Ogbere off Akanran Road, Olorunsogo, Ibadan in 1977. The parcel of land was shared and he built on his own land. He identified exhibits B, C and D which are respectively, the deed of conveyance, survey plan and the approved building plan. He employed Mr. Muili Ajadi (the P.W2), a mason, to build a house on the land. The PW2 carried out his instructions. On 23/1/89, the P.W.2 reported to him that a portion of his house had been demolished. He went to the building site and confirmed the information given by P.W.2. He thereafter went to inform Lamidi Ajao (the P.W3), his friend and co-landowner of the land on which his building is situate.

The PW3 accompanied him to the building site and he (the P.W3) saw the damage done to his building. He and the PW3 later went to lodge a complaint at the Town Planning Authority Office at Olorunsogo, Ibadan, where they met the 2nd defendant who confessed that the officers of Ibadan Metropolitan Planning Authority demolished part of his house out of sheer mistake, as their intention was to demolish a house adjacent to his (the plaintiff’s) house and not the plaintiff’s house. He alleged that one Sunday Ogunsola, the erstwhile 2nd defendant now deceased, being a superior officer to current 2nd and 3rd defendants (that is to say Mr. Dauda Busari and Mr. Ramoni Jimoh) went to carry out the demolition of part of his house.

He identified exhibit E which is the extent of damage and how much it would cost to rehabilitate the building demolished. He asserted that neither the defendants, nor the Landlords’ Association in the area served any notice of impropriety on him before the defendants demolished his house in 1989. He further asserted that he constructed his building in conformity with exhibit D (the building plan). On being cross examined, the PW.1 said that he was not present when part of his was demolished.

The defendants admitted while he (the P.W1) was in their office to make enquiries that they carried out the demolition. He prayed the Court to award him as damages the sum of N112,980.00 as the demolished portion was still left unattended to. The P.W.2 confirmed the testimony of the P.W.1 as regards the demolition of part of the building of the P.W.1, building of specification in exhibit D (the approved building plan) and that he prepared exhibit E (estimated costs to rehabilitation of the kitchen, bathroom and toilet of the demolished building). He, under cross examination, denied being present when the demolition was carried out.

The evidence of the P.W.3 – Lamidi Ajao – is not dissimilar to that of the P.W.1. It should, however, be emphasized that when he and the P.W.1 went to the Town Planning Office the 2nd defendant confessed to them that the house of the P.W.1 was demolished in error by the Town Planning Authority’s personnel.

On the part of the defendant, Mr. Tunde Aderinto, the company secretary to the 1st defendant testified that the 1st defendant was established in 1991 and it was a successor to the defunct Ibadan Metropolitan Planning Authority. He added that the 1st defendant inherited the assets and liabilities of the defunct Ibadan Metropolitan Planning Authority (hereinafter referred to as I.M.P.A.) On being cross examined by J.A.O Kalejaiye Esq., the learned Counsel for the plaintiff, the D.W.1 admitted that the 2nd and 3rd defendants were employees of I.M.P.A. before the 1st defendant took over the assets and liabilities of the Authority. He also admitted that the chief executive of the 1st defendant, late Mr. Ogunsola, Mr. Busati and Mr. Ramoni visited the plaintiff’s building site.

He added that they demolished the plaintiff’s building upon complaints received from members of the Lardlords’ Associaion of his area. He admitted that he was a senior estate officer in 1989, when the said demolition was carried out. He identified exhibits A and D as the plaintiff’s letter of complaint that part of his (plaintiff’s) house was demolished and the approved building plan respectively.