TABAI JSC (Delivering the Lead Judgment): This action was commenced at the Ikeja Judicial Division of the High Court of Lagos State by a writ of summons dated 14 July 1978 by the plaintiffs who were respondentsat the court below and are the appellants in this court. Pleadings were filed and exchanged. Both the statement of claim and the statement of defence were amended. In the concluding paragraphs of the amended statement of claim dated 10 March 1988 and filed on 10 March 1988, the plaintiffs/appellants claimed against the defendants who are respondents herein, the following reliefs: A declaration that the Elete Chieftaincy Family are the only people entitled to create and/or confer chieftaincy titles for all or any of the villages within the Elete division.
Adeclaration that the purported approval of the 3rd defendant’s recommendation of the 4th, 5th and 6th defendants as the Baale of Ilemba Awori, respectively, by the Chieftaincy Committee of the Badagry Local Government at its m…