Rejoinder by Aiyede Bunu Community to Public Notice on the Name ‘Aiyede Opa’ Published in The Graphic Newspaper

REJOINDER BY “AIYEDE BUNU COMMUNITY” TO THE PUBLIC NOTICE ON THE NAME “AIYEDE-OPA” PUBLISHED IN THE GRAPHIC NEWSPAPER OF WED. MAR 05 – TUE. MAR 11, 2025.

Introduction:

1. “Aiyede Bunu” is a Community situate along Kabba-Olle-Iluke Road after Oke Offin in the central part of Bunu District of Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State. It was founded by Assah people after the Nupe War when they left their settlements on the hills, in 1932 and named the settlement “Aiye rere de” shortened as “Aiyede”.
2. After over 20 years of Assah people’s settlement at Aiyede, the following communities moved to settle with them: Opa (Okeromi) in 1952, Aherin in 1956, Eshi in 1958, Ape in 1966 and Bolorunduro/Ido in 1972 with each having its own quarters of settlement.
3. The migrating Communities and their host, Assah, lived peacefully under the name Aiyede until sometime in 1975 when a new king of Opa (Okeromi) was installed by his community and erected a signpost to the effect that he was the “Olu Opa of Aiyede –Opa” which angered not only the aborigines but also the other communities that also migrated to the place. The indigenes of Opa (Okeromi), having the advantage of working at the Local Government Headquarters in Kabba later used their positions in suffixing Opa to the original name, Aiyede. This development cause a lot of problems within the entire Aiyede Community, as other migrating communities started agitating for the inclusiveness of their communities within the larger “Aiyede Community” such that it will read “Aiyede-Opa-Aherin-Eshi-Ape-Bolorunduro/Ido”. Development programmes formerly jointly undertaken suffered because the other migrating communities opted out unless their communities were captured.
4. The development in above led the Assah, the aborigine community and founder of the Aiyede community to approach the Local Government Council for intervention. The first attempt in 1992 did not yield fruitful result as the regime was truncated by the dissolution of the then council. The second approach to the Local Government Council in year 1995 by a memorandum titled “Aiyede-Bunu: plea for enduring justice” which led to the setting up of a Committee to look into the issue and recommend solution. The Local Government Council Committee, upon thorough investigation, after taking memoranda from all interested people and conducting hearing in the Community, recommended the reversal of the Community’s name to Aiyede the Original name and as named by Assah, the aborigines and first settlers. It was this recommendation that informed the Kabba/Bunu Local Government  Council after consultation with the Kogi State Ministry of Justice by an instrument titled “Declaration of Kabba/Bunu Local Government view on the change of name by Assah community in Bunu District of the Local Government Area” dated 3/1/1996 to revert the name of the Aiyede community to its original name “Aiyede”.

The Legal Journey:

1. Being aggrieved by the Declaration, the Opa community of Aiyede represented by James Olubiyo and Paul Onemayin sued Kabba/Bunu Local Government and 2 others, representing Assah Community, the aborigines and first settlers in Suit No. KGS/KHC/7/96 claiming the following reliefs:
2. A declaration that by their tradition and custom, the Plaintiffs are entitled to be called and retain Aiyede-Opa for which they have hitherto been known and addressed.
3. A declaration that the recommendation/declaration of 3/1/96 made by the 1^st defendant violates the customary name and tradition of the plaintiffs is arbitrary, ultra vires the Local Government, unconstitutional and void.
4. An order nullifying or abrogating the said declaration of 3/1/96 made by the 1^st defendant changing the name of the town from Aiyede-Opa to Aiyede.
5. An order restraining the 2^nd and 3^rd defendants, their servants or agents from acting or taking any steps in furtherance of the declaration purportedly made, by erecting new signboard reflecting the purported change or making alteration on or defacing existing signboard bearing Aiyede-Opa.
6. An order compelling the defendants to reinstate the name Aiyede-Opa purportedly changed by the 1^st defendant at the instigation of the 2^nd and 3^rd defendants.  
7. The plaintiffs in suit No. KGS/KHC/7/96 by another suit No. KGS/KHC/13/96 also sued one Peter Oloba, claiming as follows:
8.     A declaration that the unilateral change of  Aiyede-Opa on schools documents by the defendant is ultra vires the defendant and baseless and
9. An order restraining the defendant, his staffs, agents and privies from changing the name Aiyede-Opa to Aiyede or Aiyede-Bunu on the school records, testimonials or certificate, etc.
10. Suit Nos. KGS/KHC/7/96 and KGS/KHC/13/96 were consolidated and at the end of the hearing, in the considered judgment of the court, the plaintiffs’ suit against the defendants were dismissed.
11. Being aggrieved, the plaintiffs appealed to the Court of Appeal vide appeal number CA/A/161/2009. In their considered judgment, the Justices of the Appellate Court raised four (4) issues, to wit:
12. Whether or not the appellants proved their case before the lower court that they are entitled to be called and retained the name of Aiyede-Opa as the traditional name of their town.
13. Whether or not the lower court was right in holding that the first respondent’s power to maintain law and order within its territory include power to change the name of a town.
14. Whether or not the lower court was right that instructions to change name on signposts include changing name on anything else.
15. Whether or not the lower court was right in not giving separate judgments in the two consolidated cases.
16. It is necessary to state that issue 1 relates to the suit against the 2^nd and 3^rd defendants as representatives of Assah community in Aiyede-Bunu. Issue 2 relates to the claim against Kabba/Bunu Local Government. Issue 3 relates to the claim against Mr. Peter Oloba while Issue 4 relates to the contention of the trial lower court in giving one judgment in the two (2) consolidated cases.

Judgment of the Court of Appeal:

1. As regards Issue 1 which is the one that relates to the name of Aiyede-Opa as the traditional name of the community, for purposes of clarity, the judgment of the Court of Appeal is below reproduced in verbatim;

 “The first relief of the appellant at the lower court in suit NO KGS/KHC/7/96 was for a declaration that by their tradition and custom, they are entitled to be called and to retain their traditional name of Ayede-Opa by which they had hitherto be known and addressed. The claim was founded on the pleading of the appellants that their town Aiyede-Opa is a settlement of three (3) principal communities which had been in existence as far back as 1934 when the three communities, viz; Bolorunduro/Iddo, Okeromi and Assah decided to settle together in the present location which they call Aiyede-Opa to retain their Opa identity. It was also their case that while the three brothers which originated the three communities were at a rocky place called Okeremi, they were attacked by Agonigon who had mystical powers. They added that the three brothers eventually overcome him by using sticks (Opa) and marked the spot with sticks (Opa) which became a symbol of victory and unity for the Okeromi group, and the name by which the group became known in the new settlement and that this was carved out of the name Ayererede-Opa.

The 2^nd and 3^rd respondents denied the above history in their amended statement of defense contending that they (Assah community) were the first to settle in the area and gave it the name Aiyede coined from Ayererede after consulting the Ifa oracle in 1932.

So issues were joined on the history of settlement in the area and the lower court needed to resolve the issue as to settlement in the area to determine the traditional name of the town. See OKE V. NWAGBUINYA (2000) 5 NSC QR 93, 110 to 111, 128. I do not therefore agree with counsel for the appellants that the history of the area was not called for.

It is to be restated that the main relief of the appellants at the lower court was declaratory and so the burden fell on them to establish their entitlement to the relief on the strength of their own case and not on the weakness of the respondents’ case. The weakness or perceived weakness of the respondents’ case could only be used by the appellants to support their own case provided they established a prima facie case. Being a declaratory relief in a suit commenced by writ of summons, an admission by the respondents or even absence of a statement of defence would not per se result in the court making the declaration. See KODILINYE V. ODU (1935) 2 WACA 33 and BELLO V. EWEKA (1981) 1 SC 101.

          The appellants and respondents led evidence in support of their cases. What emerges clearly from the evidence led on both sides is that the 2^nd and 3^rd respondents’ community, Assah, first settled in the town. The evidence of PW1 at page 299 and PW2 at page 324 of the record of appeal brings this out in bold relief. Their evidence amounted to admission against interest of the appellants. Courts of law do not play with such evidence. They grab same and use it against the party unless satisfactory explanation is given. See ABUBAKAR V. YAR’ADUA (2009) 166 LRCN 1, 140. The evidence of 2^nd and 3^rd respondents on the name “Ayererede” stood unassailable and is further confirmed by the Exhibit D3. The complaint of appellants’ counsel that there is no evidence that the first settlers gave a name to the land is with all due respect founded on quicksand as the 2^nd and 3^rd respondents pleaded and led uncontroverted evidence to that effect.

          The real issue before the lower court was not what the town had hitherto been called but what the original or traditional name of the town was as given by the founding community. The founders of a place are entitled as an act of ownership to give a name to the place. See ELEGUSHI V. OSIM (2005) 14 NWLR (945) 348, 368. Subsequent settlers, as the appellants, may give a name to their settlement but certainly not the town as named by the original settlers. The fact that a different name may have been used over a period of time does not result in the change of the original or traditional name given by the first settlers.

          It is on account of the above that I endorse the holding of the lower court that giving the name “Aiyede-Opa” to the town hosting the appellants and the 2^nd and 3^rd respondents was a misnomer and also that the appellant failed to prove that Aiyede-Opa was the traditional name of the town. The evidence of DW1 at pages 347 – 348 (highlighted by appellants’ counsel) that they gathered during their findings that the six groups (making up Aiyede) agreed that the name be called Aiyede and upon which learned silk wondered how many times the oracle was consulted is of no moment as such fact was not pleaded by any of the parties. Facts not pleaded go to no issue. See ENANG V. ADU (1981) 11/12 SC 25, 42. 

It is on account of the above that I resolve issue one against the appellants.”

          The above findings of the Court of Appeal can be found at pages 14-17 of the judgment of the court.  

•  In respect of Issue No 2 which affects the Kabba/Bunu Local Government, the court held that while the setting up of the committee by the local government and the committee’s finding and recommendation were in order, the local government had no power to make the declaration as it did.
•  On issue 3 which affects Mr. P.O. Oloba, the Court of Appeal held that the instruction to change the name on the school’s signposts from Aiyede-Opa to Aiyede cannot translate to changing the name of the school on all its documents.

Further developments after the Court of Appeal judgment:

1. As a result of the persistence of the initial problem leading to the intervention of the local government and the judgment of the Kogi State High Court at Kabba, and the consequent appeal to the Court of Appeal, brought about by the  interpretation of the judgment of the Court of Appeal by the individual parties to the case as to the name of the community being Aiyede or Aiyede-Opa, the appellants in Appeal No CA/A/161/2009 which was delivered on 10/7/2014 filed a motion at the court of appeal on 21/10/2016 seeking for the correct, proper and true interpretation of the judgment delivered on 10/7/2014. At the hearing of the motion which took place at the session of the Court of Appeal that sat at Lokoja, Kogi State on 28^th September, 2017 the Court declined the request on the ground that the court had no jurisdiction to do anything and struck out the motion. 
2.  As against filing an appeal on the ruling of the Court of Appeal, the appellants at the Court of Appeal filed a motion to the Supreme Court seeking for the interpretation of the judgment. Consequently, the Supreme Court on by its Ruling of 9^th April, 2019 held that the motion, not having been brought through an appeal to the court, dismissed it with cost of One hundred thousand Naira (N100,000.00) in favour of the respondents.
3.  When the name issue persisted, leading to the filing of criminal cases against some residents of the entire Aiyede community, the original settlers of the community (Assah community) approached the Kogi State High Court of Justice, sitting at Iyara/Kabba on 16/9/2016 vide suit no KGS/IHC/5/2016  seeking for “An order of the honorable court on the defendants (Okeromi/Opa and Bolohunduro/Iddo), their agents, assigns, privies, personal representatives, successors-in-title, etc. to comply with the Declaratory judgment of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division on the name “Aiyede” as the name of the town of the parties and 3 other communities in Appeal No CA/A/161/2009 delivered on 10/7/2014 which has not been appealed against.” 
4. The trial High Court in Kabba by its judgment of 22/6/2021 in suit No KGS/IHC/5/2016, dismissed the claimants’ case on the ground that the claimants failed to prove that the Court of Appeal in its judgment in appeal No CA/A/161/2009 made a declaratory judgment or order in their favour on the name “Aiyede” as the name of the town of the parties and 3 other communities. The Court also struck out the 1^st and 2^nd defendants’ counterclaim on the ground of defect in the proper parties before the court which robs the court the jurisdiction to entertain same.
5.  The claimants being dissatisfied with the judgment of the High Court Kabba delivered on 22/6/2021, appealed to the Court of Appeal, Abuja vide Appeal No CA/ABJ/CV/871/2021 which is still pending.

Conclusion:

1. Since the respondents in the pending appeal could not wait for the outcome of the appeal before the said publication in The Graphics Newspaper captioned “Public Notice” dated Wed. March. 05 -Tue. March 11, 2025, it became imperative to also publish this rejoinder so that the public would get the proper perspective of the lingering dispute as to the name of the community of the parties Assah (the Aborigines and Founders of Aiyede), Opa/Okeromi and Bolohunduro/Iddo) and 3 other communities made up of Aherin, Eshi, and Ape as to the name Aiyede in Bunu as founded and named by Assah community.

Signed:

His Royal Highness
Oba Olore Samuel JP,
The Obalusere of Ayede Bunu
For and on Behalf of Assah Community of Aiyede Bunu.
(The Aborigines & Owners of Aiyede land and the Original Settlers of Aiyede Community)