A High Court sitting in Jalingo, Taraba State, on Thursday dismissed a suit challenging the territorial jurisdiction of the Kwararafa Chiefdom in Gassol Local Government Council of the state.
Delivering judgment, Justice Silas Haruna of the Taraba State High Court struck out the case on the grounds that the plaintiffs failed to comply with a mandatory pre-action procedure.
The court held that the plaintiffs did not issue a pre-action notice to the defendants before filing the suit, a requirement for instituting legal action against a group or organisation.
Justice Haruna upheld the arguments of the defence, noting that the failure to issue the notice rendered the suit incompetent. He cited legal precedents, including Tukur vs Gongola State Government (1989) and Adeniyi vs Federal Government of Nigeria (1981), to support the ruling.
The suit, marked TRSJ/135/2024, was filed by Alhaji Mansur Mukaila and Comrade Haman Tukur against the Kwararafa Chiefdom and its Third Class Chief, Methuselah Adamu.
The plaintiffs had approached the court through an originating summons, seeking clarification on the territorial boundaries of the Kwararafa Chiefdom under the Taraba State Upgrading of Traditional Rulers and Creation of Districts Amendment Order 2018.
Specifically, they asked the court to determine whether Kwararafa and Yaku-Shamaki were the only districts under the chiefdom and whether several listed villages, including Tella, Sabon Gida, Disol, Doubeli, Takai, Bolawa, Nanguru, Sarkin Noma, Garin Baba, Bagole, Wurno, Yaku Magaji, Yaku Baba, Garin Jingi, Funawo and Dadin Kowa, fell outside its territorial jurisdiction.
They also sought a determination on whether the Second Defendant, as the Third Class Chief, had the authority to exercise control over the disputed communities if found to be outside the chiefdom’s jurisdiction.
However, the court declined to address the substantive issues, ruling instead that the procedural lapse invalidated the suit.
Counsel to the defendants, Mr Joseph Agbu, described the ruling as “erudite,” adding that the matter might have been resolved amicably
if the plaintiffs had followed due process.
Reacting to the judgment, one of the plaintiffs, Alhaji Mukaila Mansur, said the community would study the court’s decision before deciding on the next course of action.
