LEGAL PRINCIPLE: EVIDENCE LAW — Traditional Evidence — When Recourse to Recent Acts of Ownership Is Unnecessary
PRINCIPLE STATEMENT
It is only after the histories offered by both sides are placed side by side and weighed and when they are found to be equally plausible or when there is difficulty of resolving which is correct then the question of recent acts of ownership shall become relevant.
RATIO DECIDENDI (SOURCE)
Per Musdapher, JSC, in Ogun v. Akinyelu & Ors (2004) NLC-2071999(SC) at p. 17; Paras E–A.
"It is only after the histories offered by both sides are placed side by side and weighed and when they are found to be equally plausible or when there is difficulty of resolving which is correct then the question of recent acts of ownership shall become relevant."
EXPLANATION / SCOPE
Recent acts of ownership are relevant only after weighing traditional histories and finding them equally plausible. If one history is clearly more probable, recent acts need not be examined. The principle applies to land and chieftaincy disputes. The rule prevents unnecessary inquiry into recent acts where traditional evidence already resolves the issue. The court first exhausts traditional evidence analysis. Recent acts serve as a secondary tool.
