UAC Vs Ogodo:Sapele family land case appeal for hearing Wednesday

A Federal High Court sitting in Benin will on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 hear the company’s appeal against the judgment in favour of the Ogodo Family of Sapele in its land case with AT & P (African Timber and Plywood), a subsidiary of the company by the High Court in Sapele in July 1984.

l The plaintiff claims that the entire land in dispute shown on the plaintiff survey plan is not crown or state or government land.

N950,000.00 being damages to be paid by the 1st defendant company for trespass committed on the property of the plaintiff.

A declaration that Okpe Community Land Trustees and the Attorney General Trustee, Delta State the 2nd and 3rd   defendant have no right or authority under Okpe Urhobo custom or any law to lease the land in dispute to the defendant without the consent of the plaintiff.
An order of court setting aside all the leases granted by the 2nd and 3rd defendant.

An order of interim injunction to restrain the 1st defendant, its tenants and agents from remaining on the land and occupying or issuing same for business pending the determination of the case.

The plaintiff traced their root of title to the land in dispute to their ancestor named Ogodo Okubor, who was described as one of the founding fathers of Sapele, otherwise known as Urapele.
Ogodo family is one of the four land owning families at Sapele. The Ogodo family settled on this land before the advent of the Europeans and British in Sapele.

In 1902, Mr. Grady, an agent of the a company by name of W.B. Molver & Co. Ltd., a company incorporated in England, applied for and was duly granted a lease of parcel of land by the late Ogodo, the area described as area “A” in their survey plan which is also referred to as Mathinoon Grove.

Molver established a sawmill on the area granted to him by late Chief Ogodo and in the cause of time, the 1st defendant (AT & P) succeeded Mr. Molver in the operation of the sawmill and in this way took over the lease originally enjoyed by Molver.

The 1st defendant (AT & P) admits acquiring area A on the plaintiff survey plan from Mr. Molver and Mr. Gordon and later in 1951 from the plaintiff ancestors

The defendant avers that parcel B, C, D, are crown lands and the defendant occupation of the parcel is covered by lease dated September 7, 1939.

That the defendant occupation of parcel B is shown in the plaintiff plan no. ER 1690 and registered as no.874 at page 74 in volume 1469 Lagos, now Benin City.

That the defendant occupied parcel C, as shown in plaintiff filed plan No. 1690 by the lease dated August 6, 1902, October 26, 1949 and  January 21, 1947.

It should be stated that the 1st defendant in his pleadings, stated that it would rely on government plan No. 2555 of 10/7/29 in proof of the area known as state lands in Sapele.

The defendant avers that the land in dispute is conferred by the Sapele Urban District Okpe Communal lands) Trust Instrument 1959 and covers all land within Sapale as well as all the parcel of land that were managed by the Okpe Community before the coming into force of the Trust.

The defendant avers that three pieces of land in dispute are indicated in government survey plan. The defendant denies paragraph 24 of the statement of claim and averred that the land on which government made lease in 1916, 1937, 1947 (2) and in 1949, was state land acquired under the provisions of the public Lands Ordinance of 1908.