The Court of Appeal in Ibadan has struck out a nearly two-decade-old land dispute in Ogun State due to a fatal procedural error—an unsigned court document—underscoring the critical importance of compliance with legal rules.
The case, Madam Dorcas Odu & Ors v. Baba Oyinbo & Ors (Appeal No. CA/IB/182/2012), involved chieftaincy families locked in a long-standing battle over land ownership in Ketu Adie Owe, Paramole, Ayigbaboro Village, and Ishaga Idiroko Village. The dispute began in 2006 when three chieftaincy families—the Ido-Arobe, Iga-Nla, and Iga-Ago—sued at the Ogun State High Court, seeking declarations and injunctions over the land.
After a full trial, the High Court, led by Justice A.A. Akinyemi, dismissed the claimants’ case in 2011. This decision prompted an appeal by the Ido-Arobe family.
On July 30, 2025, the Court of Appeal, presided over by Justice Biobele Abraham Georgewill and Justices Kenneth Ikechukwu Amadi and Fadawu Umaru, unanimously struck out the appeal. The court ruled that the originating Writ of Summons filed in 2006 was fundamentally flawed because it was not signed by the claimants or a named legal practitioner, as required by law.
Instead, the Writ was filed in the name of a law firm, Marcus Babwoye & Co., without a proper signature from a specific legal practitioner. The court held that this error rendered the suit legally incompetent, referencing previous Supreme Court decisions like Okafor v. Nweke (2007) and SLB Consortium Ltd v. NNPC (2011), which make it clear that such documents are “incurably defective” and strip courts of jurisdiction.
Quoting the famous legal principle, Justice Georgewill declared: “In law, one cannot put something on nothing and expect it to stand. No, it would definitely collapse!”
The appellants’ lawyer, C.O. Abudu Esq., had argued that the lack of a valid signature on the original Writ nullified the High Court’s jurisdiction. The opposing counsel, Idris Kolawale Olajide Esq., argued that the Registrar’s signature was enough under Ogun State’s civil procedure rules. But the Appeal Court rejected this, stressing that only the claimant or their lawyer can validly sign such documents.
Some of the respondents didn’t oppose the appeal, and those who did—including representatives from the Ogun State Ministry of Justice—failed to convince the court otherwise.
Ultimately, the Court of Appeal’s decision serves as a cautionary message to legal practitioners: procedural compliance is not optional. An invalid originating process cannot be saved by later amendments, and any suit built on such a foundation is doomed to collapse.
