The Ikot Ansa (Nkonib) Community in Calabar Municipality Local Council of Cross River State has commended the Supreme Court of Nigeria for delivering what it described as a landmark judgment in a long-running land dispute.

The Apex Court, in a unanimous decision in Appeal No. SC/CV/295/2021, affirmed the community’s rightful ownership of the disputed parcel of land and dismissed the appeal filed by HRH Ntoe Ededem Okon Ayito of Kasuk II Community, bringing an end to a legal tussle that spanned over eight years across Nigeria’s judicial hierarchy.

The lead judgment, delivered by Justice Uwani Musa Abba Aji and supported by Justices Mohammed Salawa, Stephen Adah, and Abubakar Sadik Umar, upheld the earlier ruling of the Court of Appeal, which had faulted the High Court’s decision in favour of Ayito.

The justices held that Ayito failed to establish valid ownership through traditional history, which formed the crux of his initial claim. 

While Ayito later attempted to rely on acts of long possession and ownership, the Supreme Court ruled that these could not supplant the legal requirement of proving a root of title based on traditional evidence.

The court also nullified the February 21, 2019, judgment by Justice Imelda B. Etape of the Cross River State High Court, which had awarded ownership to Ayito and slammed N100 million in damages for trespass against the Ikot Ansa Community.

Reacting to the ruling in a statement yesterday, legal counsel to the Ikot Ansa Community, Mba Ukweni, described the judgment as a victory not only for his clients but also for judicial consistency and equity in land matters. 

“This decision reinforces the long-standing principle that acts of possession cannot override the requirement to prove root of title based on traditional history,” he said