Supreme Court Dismisses 39-Year-Old Trans-Nkissi Land Suit in Onitsha
The Supreme Court of Nigeria has brought finality to a protracted land dispute, dismissing a suit that had lingered for nearly four decades over the revocation and compulsory acquisition of the Trans-Nkissi Layout in Onitsha by the former Anambra State government.
Originally filed in 1987 by Chinyelugo Denis Chude and eleven others against the state government, its Attorney-General, and the Commissioner for Lands, the action challenged the legality of the acquisition. However, the plaintiffs failed to prosecute the matter diligently, leading to its striking out in 2008 by Justice Agbata. A subsequent application for relisting in 2015 was refused.
Counsel for the Ministry of Justice, Okechukwu Ezeanyim, argued that the case had suffered prolonged inactivity, with no witnesses called, and stressed that the land had since developed into a highbrow residential layout accommodating thousands of residents. He maintained that reopening the matter would be inequitable and contrary to public policy.
The plaintiffs’ appeal to the Court of Appeal (CA/E/E/96/2015) was dismissed for lack of merit. Persisting, they approached the Supreme Court (SC/400/2018), which unanimously upheld the lower court’s decision.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Iyang Okoro, with concurrence from the other justices, dismissed the suit, thereby conclusively ending the 39-year legal battle.
