TENNYSON AJIE PETER LAWSON HARRY BIRIAYI ISOBERENGE BERTRAM PETERSIDE RICHARD HORSFALL JACOB EDWARD ASIEMIA ARODIKIMABIA NTIEGO ASIEMIA MADAM DABA HARRY WISDOM WAKAMA IKECHI GEORGEWILL V. CYPRIAN AHUNANYA FRANCIS UDO ADOLPHUS WAKAMA OKON OKON

OGEBE, JCA (Delivering the Lead Judgment): The appellants sued the respondents in the High Court of Port Harcourt presided over by Odili, J., claiming N500,000.00 damages for trespass and seeking an order of perpetual injunction, restraining them from further acts of trespass. The respondents counter-claimed in the sum of N22,500.00, as special damages for destroying the 1st respondent’s property, N500,000.00 damages for trespass to the property of the 1st respondent, situate at No. 26 Rumusele Street, Port Harcourt and perpetual injunction restraining the appellants from further acts of trespass. Some of the appellants gave evidence that they were tenants in the disputed property when sometime in 1991, the 1st respondent, along with the other respondents, came and forcefully removed their properties from the rooms they were occupying. They testified that at the time of the removal of their properties, they were not paying rents on the property to anybody. They were earlier paying r…