MURI BABALOLA v. VICTORIA TAMAKLOE (DECEASED)

JUDGMENT

GYAESAYOR, JA

Sometime in 1996, one Victoria Tamakloe now deceased and now substituted by one Beger Ahorlu negotiated with one Rabiu Babalola to buy a swish building at Nima for ¢37.5 million cedis. The house is numbered Ward 5 Block B15 No.362 in Accra. After the negotiation, she paid an initial amount of ¢15.5 million cedis.

Subsequent to this, the said Rabiu and one of his brother’s resident in Ghana sold the house to one Miriam Ahmed without first abrogating the contract between him and the said Victoria Tamakloe. Victoria Tamakloe took action in the Circuit Court against her vendor and applied for Miriam to be joined as a co-defendant to the suit. On the 22nd day of December 2000, the Circuit Court delivered judgment in favour of Victoria Tamakloe who was plaintiff in that suit. The court then proceeded to decree title in favour of Victoria Tamakloe. Rabiu the vendor did not appeal against the judgment of the Circuit Court but the new purchaser Miriam Ahmed filed an appeal in the Court of Appeal.

The Court of Appeal after listening to the parties dismissed the case of Madam Ahmed and affirmed the decision of the Circuit Court. The Court of Appeal found that there was a valid contract and that the house which originally belonged to one Gbadamosi was properly sold by Rabiu to Madam Victoria with the consent of one of the children entitled to the house and confirmed the decree of specific performance ordered in her favour by the Circuit Court. After the decision of the court of appeal a brother of Rabiu who is the respondent in the appeal armed with a vesting assent after Letters of Administration had been granted to him took out a writ in the High Court Accra, claiming the very property sold to Madam Tamakloe now deceased. The claim filed by Muri Babalola for himself and beneficiaries of the estate of Gbadamosi for declaration of title to H/No199/18, Nima 441 and for recovery of possession of the said house.

The accompanying statement of claim discloses that the High Court Agona Swedru granted Letters of Administration to Masudi Babalola on 20th June 2009 in respect of the estate of Gbadamosi Babalola and who in turn executed a vesting assent in favour of the children of late Gbadamosi on 10th August 2009.

Paragraph 6 of the statement of claim reads that “the defendant herein has been illegally laying claim to No. H/No E199/51 Nima 441 and interfering with the plaintiff possession without any valid grant of the house to her.

Upon receipt