Facts:

The Appellant filed an action against the Respondent at the High Court of Oyo State seeking the declaration of title to a property at Quarter 785, Jericho GRA, Ibadan, Oyo State; N20,000.00 as nominal damages against the Respondent, and an order of perpetual injunction against the Respondent with respect to the property. The Appellant claimed that it is the rightful owner of the property, and that it validly derived title in the property in 1976 through its predecessor-in-title which derived its own title from the defunct Western Region of Nigeria, and that it had since then, been in undisturbed possession of the property. The Appellant claimed that the subject Quarter 785 Jericho Ibadan was in fact, part of the properties ceded to it under the Oyo State Legal Notice No. 6 of 1990 titled “Instrument Vesting Properties Belonging to the Government of the Former Western State of Nigeria and its Statutory Agencies in Odu’a Investment Company Limited” by the provision of item 32 of the Legal Notice which vested lands and building occupied by Premier Hotel Limited in the Appellant.

The Respondent filed his statement of defence and other processes, in response to the Appellant’s claim. The Respondent’s case was that the Oyo State Government had allocated the property to him for valuable consideration, after a competitive bidding process. After the conclusion of trial, the trial court delivered its judgement in which it granted the Appellant’s claims. Dissatisfied, the Respondent appealed to the Court of Appeal, which allowed the appeal and set aside the judgement of the trial court. Aggrieved, the Appellant filed an appeal at the Supreme Court.