IFEYINWA CECILIA NZEAKO, JCA (Delivering the Leading Judgment): The Appellants in this appeal were the Plaintiffs in the suit which they filed at the High Court of Justice, Yola, Adamawa State of Nigeria on 20th June 1993. The claim arose out of events which occurred some time in 1984. Compensation was, as admitted by the Respondents, payable to the Appellants by the Respondents by reason of the Respondents causing the Appellants' buildings in Yola metropolis to be demolished. The Appellants had valid Certificates of occupancy and approved building plans of the property in question. The Appellants' Amended Statement of Claim sets out in detail the events, their sequence, the claim and the grounds thereof. I will later set out relevant paragraphs of the statement of claim.
Although the Respondents entered an appearance and filed a defence, they did not defend the suit at the trial. At the said trial, the Appellants adduced evidence, tendering series of documentary evidence which were n…