NWABUOKU V. OTTIH

• Pages: 234-237

234



NIGERIAN SUPREME COURT CASES

[1961] N.S.C.C.

NWABUOKU V. OTTIH.

5

S.O. NWABUOKU



PLAINTIFF/APPELLANT

V

P.N. OTTIH



DEFENDANT/RESPONDENT



10

SUIT NO. FSC 335/1961

FEDERAL SUPREME COURT.

ADEMOLA,



C.J.F.

UNSWORTH.



F.J.

TAYLOR,



F.J.

30th September, 1961.

Evidence - Oral evidence for plaintiff sufficient to establish claim - Uncontradicted

- Plaintiff entitled to judgment - Oral loan agreement - Document, executed

later, setting out terms of orginial loan.

Land Law - Document described as 'Mortgage" - Non-registration under Land

Registration Ordinance, Cap 99 - Admissible as an acknowledgement of debt

in action brought on foot of original oral transaction.

Contracts - Oral - written acknowledgment - Admissible in evidence - Land

Registration - Acknowledgment of debt not required to be registered.

ISSUE:

1.

Whether a plaintiff is entitled to judgment where oral evidence of a transaction



30

(subsequently reduced to a document) is adduced, which establishes his claim

against the defendant in terms of the writ.

2.

Whether a document acknowledging a loan and authorising the creditor to

collect rent from the debtors property in satisfaction of the loan is an "instrument"



requiring registration within the meaning of section 15 of the Lands Registration



35

Ordinance.

FACTS:

The plaintiff claims against the defendant (1) an account of rents collected by

the defendant f-om June 1955 to July 1960 as the mortgagee of property in Victo-



ria, Southern Cameroons; (2) payment of the amount found due on the taking of



40

the account; (3i in default of such account, the plaintiff claimed that the defendant

had collected 2423-10s-Od during the period, and that he, the plaintiff, was entitled

to £303-9s-Od, after deduction of the mortgage debt of £120-1s-Od; and (4) an In-

junction to restrain the defendant from collecting further rents.



In his amended statement of defence, the defendant denied that he was a mort-



45

gagee with respect to the property, but stated that on June 24th, 1955, he lent £121-

10s-Od to the plaintiff, who, thereupon, pledged the property to him; the pledge

being redeemable upon payment of the loan. He denied that he was an account-

ing party to the plaintiff.



Neither party pleaded any document. However, during the trial a document



50

was produced by the plaintiff, and objected to by the defendant. The plaintiff how-

ever, said the document offered in evidence was not the document made in ac-

knowledgment of the loan. It was executed on February 15th, 1957 and, on its

face, purported to mortgage to the Defendant the property in question on the day

15

20

25