JOHN ONYENGE & ORS VS CHIEF LOVEDAY EBERE & ORS
June 11, 2025CHRISTOPHER E. NWANJI V COASTAL SERVICES (NIG.) LTD
June 11, 2025Legalpedia Citation: (2004) Legalpedia (CA) 76114
In the Court of Appeal
Tue Jun 22, 2004
Suit Number: CA/L/33/2001
CORAM
JAMES OGENYI OGEBE JUSTICE, COURT OF APPEAL
PIUS OLAYIWOLA ADEREMI, JUSTICE, COURT OF APPEAL
PARTIES
DR. THOMPSON OBIDAIRO ) MISS ELIZABETH SOBOWALE APPELLANTS
MRS. ESTHER O. ADEBAYO BAKARE ) ADIGUN O. BANKOLE ) PLAINTIFFS / RESPONDENTS
AREA(S) OF LAW
SUMMARY OF FACTS
The Plaintiff instituted an action against the Defendants at the High Court of Lagos State over ownership/ joint ownership with the sharing formula of a property situated at No 56 Odo Street Obalende Lagos State. There was exchanged of pleading between both parties, from the pleadings parties are ad idem that their common ancestor was their ancestral mother and the subject matter of the case is not in dispute, and that by virtue of the decision in suit No LD/82/70 the said property is a family property under the native law and custom. At the end of the hearing the trial judge entered judgment on the sharing formula of the property in the Plaintiff’s favour. Being dissatisfied the Defendant now Appellants appealed to this Court.
HELD
Appeal Dismissed
ISSUES
Was the order and the mode of partition contained in the judgment of Silva J. four and equitable in the circumstances.Did the plaintiff present clear proposals and profiles of 54, 0do Street, 0balende for its partitioning.Would the Idi-Igi mode of distribution/partitioning of the family property be equitable in the circumstances having regard to the fact that all the parties have equal shares in the property.Did the plaintiffs prove that the appellants collected rents from the tenants from 1989 to the date this action was filed.
RATIONES DECIDENDI
YORUBA CUSTOMARY LAW- WHERE A PERSON DIES INTERSTATE IT IS HIS CHILDREN WHO ARE ENTITLE TO HIS PROPERTIES.
“From a number of the decisions of our courts, it has come to be firmly established that under the native law and customs, upon the death of a Yoruba person intestate, it is his or her children as opposed to his or her relations that are entitled to his or her properties.” PER ADEREMI JCA
DISTRIBUTION OF ESTATE – MODE OF DISTRIBUTION OF ESTATE OF A PERSON WHO DIED INTESTATE
‘‘In Yoruba land, two modes of distribution of the estate of a person who died intestate are often resorted. As I have said supra, they are
(1)IDI-IGI method – commonly called PER STIRPES and (2) ORI-OJORO method – commonly called PER CAPITA. In practical term Idi-Igi method translates to this: no matter the number of children that the deceased may have through a number of wives he married in his life time, it is the number of the wives that is used in dividing the property such that if one wife had one child for the deceased and another wife had four each wife constitutes 1 IDI-IGI and the property is this divided into equal part among the wives ORI- OJORI method discards the number of wives and emphasis as the number of children with the result that when one wife had a child and another had four – all the children would take equal shares under the ORI-OJORI method. Taking an over-view of the life of a man who is subject to native law and custom and who was polygamous in his life time, given a normal state of affairs, the wife who had four children would seem to gain more from their deceased husband during his life time as against the wife with only one child as their deceased husband would have taken care of all his children equally doing his life time. It is only proper that the wife with one child should have the better part upon the death of their husband. In the IDI-IGI method though the branches get equal shares the share of each child would depend on the number of children in that branch. This is in contra distinction to the ORI-OJORI where all the children regardless of the number of the wives get equal shares in the distribution of the estate. The Idi-Igi method has been judicially held to be the universally acceptable method of distribution of the estate of a person who died interest and it has thus become an integral point of the Yoruba Native Law and Custom see Dawodu vs Danmole (1962) ALL NLR 695. Indeed, the IDI-IGI method was pronounced in that case as not being repugnant to natural justice equity and good conscience.’’ PER ADEREMI JCA
CASES CITED
Adeseye & Ors Vs Taiwo 1 F.S.C. 84Dawodu Vs Danmole (1962) ALL NLR 695Lewis Vs Bankole 1 N.L.R. 82
STATUTES REFERRED TO
None
