Appeal Court. 19 October 1937.
Appeal from Judgment of High
Court exercising Appellate
Jurisdiction.
Claim for assault and false
imprisonment-Land in dispute
sub judice a Native
Court-Section 32 of
Ordinance 45 of
1933Question of ouster of
magistrate's jurisdiction
raised.
Held: The question of title to
the land not being in issue and
this being a serious assault and
battery followed by illegal
detention and not a mere
ejection of alleged trespassers
the plaintiffs were entitled to
damages. Appeal dismissed.
There is no need to set out the
facts.
E.
J. Alex Taylor (Hon. S.
B. Rhodes with him) for
Appellants.
A.
Kayode for Respondents.
The following joint judgment was
delivered:-
KINGDON, c.]., NIGERIA, PETRIDES,
C.]., GOLD COAST, AND BUTLER
LLOYD,].
The facts proved and not now
disputed in this case are that
the defendants seriously
assaulted the plaintiffs and
falsely imprisoned them. The
plaintiffs sued for damages for
these wrongs in the Court of the
Magistrate of the Protectorate
Court. He awarded both
plaintiffs damages for both
wrongs.
The defendants contend that he
had no jurisdiction to do so
because the assault took place
on land which was in dispute
between the parties and the
subject of pending litigation in
a Native Court, relying for this
contention upon the wording of
the proviso to section 32 of the
Protectorate Courts Ordinance,
1933.
" Provided that
a Magistrate's Court shall
not exercise original
jurisdiction in suits which
raise any issue as to title to
land or any interest therein in
cases in which the suit is
subject to the jurisdiction of a
Native Court."
But in this case it makes no
difference where the assault
took place, whether on land in
dispute or not; it was not a
mere ejection of alleged
trespassers, but a serious
assault and battery and was
followed by illegal detention;
nor does it make any difference
whether the plaintiffs were
invitees or trespassers. The
defendants
Maxwell Ono
&
Ano. v. Abel !kolo
&
Ors.
205
committed two torts against them,
and the sole issues in the case
Maxwell Ono before the magistrate
was .. were these torts committed
and if so & ~~o.
what damages should be awarded? "
Abel Ikolo
The question of the title to the
land was not in any way in issue,
& ~ and the pending proceedings
before the Native Court were not
in any Kingdon, way affected by
the decision in this case.
2~.n?,::'
The appellants' Counsel quoted to
this Court the case of Reg v.
ButlerLloyd, Pearson,
22 L.T.R. 126, in which it was
held that the jurisdiction of J.
magistrates was ousted by the
wording of section 46 of the
Statute
24 & 25 Victoria C.100
•• Nothing therein contained shall
authorise any justices to hear and
determine any case of assault or
battery in which any question
shall arise as to the title to any
lands, etc."
as soon as any such question is
shown to arise, and suggested that
this decision governed the present
case. But we think that it does
not for two reasons, first the
wording of the English Act, "any
question shall arise," is very
much wider than that of the
Nigerian Ordinance, " suits which
raise any issue," and secondly in
the present case no question
really arose as to title, the
defendants only sought to drag it
into the case, but in their
pleadings the plaintiffs did not
put any such question in issue.
It is clear therefore that the
magistrate's jurisdiction was not
ousted by the proviso in question.
The appeal fails and is dismissed
with costs assessed at 15 guineas.
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