The Appeal Court sitting in Abuja Wednesday said the lower court that threw out the case of Ilajo royal family challenging the appointment of Chief Dele Owoniyi as the Obaro of Kabba on the basis that it was statue barred was wrong and a miscarriage of justice.
Chief Henry Aiyewumi and three others on behalf of the Ilajo Royal family had approached the court to determine whether the high court sitting in Lokoja was right by throwing out the case challenging the appointment of Chief Owoniyi as the Obaro of Kabba who he said is not from the royal family.
The appellants specifically urged the court to consider whether the judgment of the Supreme Court in the recent case of ESUWOYE V BOSERE relied upon by the lower court to dismiss the suit was right and held same to be statute barred.
In his judgement, Justice Onyenenam said the lower court failed to carry out a comprehensive study of the case it relied upon to dismiss the case.
He averred that the facts and circumstances of the Supreme Court judgment of Esuwoye v Bosere and the one before it were similar.
The appeal also held that the appellant did all it is supposed to do according to sec 6 (1&2) of the Kogi state chieftaincy law by writing to the governor to complain the anomaly in the appointment of Owoniyi before it finally approached the court.
The court ruled that all these were done within the time frame of the law but said the governor refused to take any action on the petition by setting up a judicial panel to look into the complaints and ruled that the appellant has the right to seek for redress in the court as he could not wait till eternity.
The court resolved the matter in favour of the appellants, Chief Oluwole and 3 others and the court unanimously agreed that the suit was not statute barred adding that the lower court was wrong to have held otherwise.
