CORAM

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ADEREMI JUSTICE, SUPREME COURT

ONU MUSDAPHER JUSTICE, SUPREME COURT

AKINTAN CHIEF JUSTICE NIGERIA ONNOGHEN TABAI JUSTICE, SUPREME COURT

MUHAMMAD JUSTICE, SUPREME COURT

ADEREMI JUSTICE, SUPREME COURT

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PARTIES

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1. ATTORNEY-GENERAL OF THE FEDERATION

2. INSPECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE

3. INDEPENDENT NATINAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION (INEC)

APPELLANTS 

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ALHAJI ATIKU ABUBAKAR & 3 ORS

RESPONDENTS 

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AREA(S) OF LAW

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SUMMARY OF FACTS

The 1st respondent as plaintiff in the Court of Appeal took out on action in that court sitting in its original jurisdiction to question his purported removal as vice-president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and withdrawal of his staff and security details by the president. He went on to seek declaratory orders to render the president’s actions null and void and also injunctions restraining the I.G.P. and INEC from taking any step to effect his removal.

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HELD

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APPEAL DISMISSED

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ISSUES

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1. Whether or not the Court of Appeal was right in granting the plaintiffs reliefs Nos. 1, 11 and 111 when on the available evidence, which was not considered, there was no Lis2. Whether or not the Court of Appeal acting under S. 239 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is a trial court which is obliged to evaluate the evidence, identify issues in dispute and apply the findings on the law before arriving at any decision.3. Whether or not in construing the intention of the drafters of the Constitution in relation to Section 142 (1) of the 1999 Constitution, the Court of Appeal was not duty bound to consider the following:(a) History of the Constitutional provisions;(a)Social need, political realities and peculiarities(c) The need to avoid absurdity

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RATIONES DECIDENDI

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MEANING OF LITERAL INTERPRETATION

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“It is necessary to say something about the general principles of interpretation of statutes, including constitutions. The generally accepted rule of construction is that it is to be assumed that the words and phrases of technical legislation are used in their technical meaning if they have acquired one, and otherwise in their ordinary meaning. Phrases and sentences are to be construed according to the rules of grammar. If there is nothing to modify, alter or qualify the language which the statute contains, it must be construed in the ordinary and natural meaning of the words and sentences. This approach is regarded as “literal interpretation” or characterized as the “positivist approach” PER S. U ONU J.S.C

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CASES CITED

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None.

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STATUTES REFERRED TO

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None.

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CLICK HERE TO READ FULL JUDGMENT 

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