LEGAL PRINCIPLE: EVIDENCE LAW – Admissibility of Documents – Document Tendered to Prove a Fact in Issue
PRINCIPLE STATEMENT
A document which may be registrable as an instrument affecting land is admissible if tendered not to establish title or interest in land, but merely to prove a fact in issue between the parties, such as the nature of a transaction.
RATIO DECIDENDI (SOURCE)
"A document which may be registrable as an instrument affecting land is admissible if tendered not to establish title or an interest in land, but merely to prove a fact in issue between the parties, such as the nature of a transaction. Even if it was an estate contract and consequently an instrument registrable for the purposes of the Land Instrument Registration Law of Eastern Nigeria, since the purpose of producing it was only to establish that the transaction between the respondent and Mbahaotu was for the redemption of a pledge, the document is admissible."
EXPLANATION / SCOPE
Registration requirements for land instruments (deeds, conveyances) don’t bar their admissibility when tendered for purposes other than proving title or interest in land. The purpose of tendering determines admissibility: if offered to prove title/interest, registration is required; if offered to prove other facts (nature of transaction, existence of agreement, payment, relationship between parties), the unregistered document is admissible. Here, the document proved the transaction was a pledge redemption, not a sale—a factual matter distinct from title. This principle prevents parties from being denied relevant evidence on technicalities when the evidence serves legitimate evidentiary purposes unrelated to title establishment. Courts examine the specific purpose for which documents are tendered.