MELIFONWU & ORS.
V.
EGBUYI & ORS.

M. BELLO, J.S.C (Delivering the Leading Judgment): The parties in these proceedings have a common ancestral origin. They all descended from Ezechima Ogbuefi, who was said to be the founder and the first king of Onitsha. It is common ground that he had three surviving sons, namely, Ebo, Chimaukwa and Ezearoli. Ebo was the eldest son while Ezearoli was the youngest. The first and second appellants descended from Ebo while the 3rd and 4th appellants descended from Chimaukwa. The respondents had Ezearoli as their ancestor. There was a fourth son, Anwula, who predeceased their father and because of his premature death the descendants of the fourth son are not parties to these proceedings. It is also common ground that during his life time their father, who owned a large parcel of land although there is no evidence of the exact site of his "Iba" (traditional compound) thereon, divided his land into three portions among the three surviving sons and after his death each son took possession an…