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AMIDU ALHASSAN AMIDU & ANOR.
V.
MUTIU ALAWIYE & 6 ORS.

(2019) JELR 68180 (SC)

Supreme Court 24 Jul 2019 Ghana
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- Supreme Court (majority) held that in actions for declaration of title to land, courts must assess the strength of the plaintiff’s case against the weaknesses of the defendant’s, applying the balance of probabilities under Ghana’s Evidenc

Case Details

Suit Number:CIVIL APPEAL NO. J4/54/2018
Judges:BAFFOE-BONNIE JSC (PRESIDING), GBADEGBE JSC, BENIN JSC, APPAU JSC (DISSENTING), PWAMANG JSC
Counsel:AGNES OPAREBEA MANTE FOR THE PLAINTIFFS/RESPONDENTS/APPELLANTS; C. K. KOKA FOR THE DEFENDANTS/ APPELLANTS/RESPONDENTS.

MAJORITY OPINION

PWAMANG, JSC

The parties to this appeal are litigating over ownership of a rather small piece of land at Okaishie in Central Accra which they claim through their respective predecessors-in-title. The land was acquired in the early twentieth century when the city of Accra was much smaller and not laid out as we have it today. The original acquisitions of both predecessors-in-title were covered by conveyances which delineated their grants on site plans. At the trial in the High Court, the parties led oral evidence and tendered their respective documents and site plans and a court appointed surveyor prepared a composite plan. The surveyor testified and was cross-examined.

At the close of the trial, the High Court gave judgment in favour of the plaintiffs and granted the reliefs they claimed save for relief (e), a claim for damages for trespass. Upon an appeal by the defendants, the Court of Appeal disagreed with the trial judge’s findings on the evidence, set aside its jud…

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