SHEHU DALIBI V. AHMADU TELA

MUHAMMAD, JCA: (Delivering the Lead Judgment) The litigants at the Upper Area Court II, Birnin Kebbi of Kebbi State, were full brothers. The respondent herein as plaintiff sued the appellant as defendant claiming some farmlands from him. Plaintiff claimed that they inherited the farmland from their late father and were now withheld by the defendant. The defendant, in response, denied and cited some six farmlands which belonged to their late father and asserted that they were distributed in 1971 by a court with each of the heirs holding his shares. When the trial court demanded a copy of the judgment in which the deceased’s estate was distributed, two copies of court proceedings No. CV/70/70 and CV/80/82 were made available. The trial court could not trace from the two proceedings where the deceased’s estate was distributed. As a result, evidence was taken from the parties. The trial court relied as well on the (“confession”) admission of the defendant that the farms belonged to thei…