CORAM
SOWEMIMO JUSTICE, SUPREME COURT
A.B WALI – JUSTICE, SUPREME COURT
ESO JUSTICE, SUPREME COURT
PARTIES
AGNES DEBORAH EJIOFODOMI APPELLANTS
RESPONDENTS
AREA(S) OF LAW
SUMMARY OF FACTS
In the District Court of Kano State, the plaintiff/respondent (H. C. Okonkwo hereinafter referred to as the respondent) took out a writ of summons against the defendant/appellant (Agnes Deborah Ejiofodomi also hereinafter referred to as the appellant.
HELD
APPEAL ALLOWED
ISSUES
None.
RATIONES DECIDENDI
Rule of not raising fresh points on appeal
“As a matter of principle the Court of Appeal has always been strict in applying the rule that an appellant from a county court, unless the other party consents, cannot be allowed in this court to raise a new point of law not raised below. After all, the county court is intended to serve litigants of relatively small means. It is not in accordance with the public interest that a party who has fought a case in county court and been defeated should then raise in this court a new point and put his case in an entirely different way as a matter of law and so make the other party, hitherto successful, litigate the matter again at the risk of having to pay the costs not only below, but in this court.” PER M. BELLO, JSC
CASES CITED
None.
STATUTES REFERRED TO
None.