The dispute in this appeal is the Estate of their father, which property is situate at No 3 Otigbah Street, Ikeja, Lagos.

In his lifetime, their father by a Deed of Assignment dated 2nd June, 1977 assigned the said property to his children, the parties herein, out of love, bond and affection. Subsequently, a Deed of Partition was executed between the 1st Respondent and the 2nd Respondent partitioning the property.

There is also a Development Lease by which the 1st Respondent was to develop and take control of the property.

The Deed of Partition and the Development Lease are both dated 23rd June 2008. Furthermore, there is a Purchase Agreement; it is between the original owners of the land and the 1st Respondent. It is dated 10th February, 1977. By the said Purchase Agreement, the property was sold to the 1st Respondent as the outright sole owner of the property.

Now, the Appellants contending that the Deed of Partition and Development Lease Agreement are illegal and that the 1st Respondent had failed to give an account of rents collected from the tenants at the property instituted proceedings before the High Court of Lagos State wherein they claimed for Declarations that the purported Deed of Partition and Development Agreement/Lease between George Ifeanyi Otigbah and Mrs. Agatha Adetutu Uwanaka (Nee Otigbah) purportedly signed on 3rd April, 2009 are illegal; that by virtue of the Deed of Assignment dated 2nd June, 1977 between Paul Dawson Otigbah and Agatha Adetutu Otigbah for herself and other children, the parties are joint owners on equal basis of the disputed property; Orders; Cost of litigation ; amongst other reliefs.

At the end of the trial, the lower Court dismissed the Appellants case and entered judgment for the 1st Respondent in terms of her counterclaim.

The Appellants being dissatisfied with the said judgment appealed to the Court of Appeal against the same by Notice of Appeal.

The 1st Respondent filed a Notice of Contention that the judgment of the Lower Court be affirmed on grounds other than those relied on by the Lower Court, but the Respondents did not file any brief of argument and even though all the processes were served on them, they also did not attend Court at the hearing. Hence the appeal was consequently heard on the Appellants brief alone.