CHIEF OLUNTA ALIBO MR. MELFORD AGALA MR. B. S. BAGSHAW MR. HAMILTON H. DAWARI (FOR THEMSELVES AND ON BEHALF OF ALIBO FAMILY OF OKUSIN COMPOUND OF IDO IN DEGEMAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF RIVERS STATE) CHIEF FELIX OWUKIO EGWEW CHIEF KAIZER OPUWARIBOKO CHIEF LONDON D. ESUKU CHIEF GEORGE PRABO CHIEF SUNDAY OYIBO CHIEF ROBINSON BIBI CHIEF CAPTAIN OYIBO MR. CAPTAIN OYIBO (FOR THEMSELVES AND ON BEHALF OF IDO COUNCIL OF CHIEFS) V. CHIEF BENJAMIN OKUSIN MR. GRAHAM D. OWUKOLO BENETH A. JOHNBULL MR. GIDEON B. HARRY (FOR THEMSELVES AND ON BEHALF OF OKO FAMILY ON OKUSIN COMPOUND OF IDO IN DEGEMA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF RIVERS STATE)

OGEBE, JCA (Read the Lead Judgment): The respondents sued the appellants before the High Court of Justice, Port Harcourt claiming as per paragraph 36 of their statement of claim as follows:

“(1) A declaration that under Kalabari native law and custom the compound to which the two families belong (i.e. the plaintiffs and the 1st set of defendants is known as and called OKUSIN POLO and NOT ALIBO POLO as erroneously claimed by the 1st set of defendants. (2) A declaration that under Kalabari native law and custom the said OKUSIN POLO to which the plaintiffs and 1st set of defendants belong can not be named after or identified or changed to or called ALIBO POLO having regards to the history of OKUSIN COMPOUND vis-a-vis the relationship and or genealogy of the two families i.e. the plaintiffs and the 1st set of defendants.

A declaration that the 1st defendant Chief Olunta Alibo whose Chieftaincy emanates from Okoro Compound is not a Chief of Okusin Compound and therefore can not be the para…