CORAM
PARTIES
OZURUMBA NSIRIM APPELLANTS
DR. SAMUEL W. AMADI
RESPONDENTS
AREA(S) OF LAW
SUMMARY OF FACTS
The Plaintiff now Respondent instituted an action against the Defendant/Appellant at the High Court of Rivers State holden at Port Harcourt wherein he claimed the following reliefs; a declaration that the Plaintiff/Respondent who is the next of kin of Chief Christian O. Amadi (deceased) is entitled to the grant of letters of Administration in respect of the Plot 91 Gborokiri Layout Port Harcourt, a declaration that the Plaintiff/Respondent is entitled to the Assignment of the leasehold interest in respect of the said property, an order revoking and/or nullifying the Letters of Administration dated 15/2/82 purportedly granted to the Defendant/Appellant in respect of the said property, an order for the Defendant/Appellant to account for all the rents he wrongly collected from the tenants in the premises and an order of perpetual injunction restraining the Defendant/Appellant and/or his servants and agents from interfering with the said property. The Defendant/Appellant however contended that the property was not assigned by his late father who granted a power of attorney over the property to a doneee thereby having nothing to assign to the privy of the Plaintiff/Respondent. Also that the Plaintiff/Respondent suing as the next of kin of his late father without Letters of Administration lacked locus standi to institute the action. The trial court granted the Plaintiff/Respondent’s second relief but however entered judgment for the Defendant/Appellant and failed to consider the issue of locus standi raised by the Defendant/Appellant. The Plaintiff/Respondent dissatisfied with the trial court’s judgment appealed to the Court of Appeal which allowed the appeal. The Appellant who was the Respondent at the lower court rather than file a cross appeal or respondent’s notice raised the issue of locus standi of the Plaintiff/Respondent and same was struck out by the court hence this appeal.
HELD
Appeal Dismissed
ISSUES
Whether or not the learned justices of the Court of Appeal were right in refusing to consider and determine the question of the capacity or locus standi of the Respondent to sue, which was a challenge to the competence of the action and therefore the jurisdiction of the trial court to entertain the Respondents claims?
RATIONES DECIDENDI
ISSUES FOR DETERMINATION – LEGAL EFFECT OF WHEN ISSUES FOR DETERMINATION DO NOT ARISE FROM GROUNDS OF APPEAL RELIED UPON
“An issue or issues for determination must arise from the grounds of appeal relied upon – see Nwanezia vs Idris (1993) 3 NWLR (pt. 279) 1 at 12. Therefore, when an issue(s) as formulated be not based on the ground of appeal filed, the legal effect is that it is/they are on that account irrelevant – see Ugo vs Obiekwe (1989) 1 NWLR (pt. 99) 566. Osinupebi vs Sabiu (1982) 7 SC 104, 110, 111; Western Steel Works Ltd vs Iron Workers Union of Nigeria (1987) 1 NWLR (pt. 49) 284, 304.” PER W. S. N.ONNOGHEN, J.S.C
JURISDICTION – DEFINITION OF JURISDICTION
“Jurisdiction is defined as the legal capacity of a court to hear and determine judicial proceedings. It is a power to adjudicate concerning the subject matter of the controversy.” PER W. S. N.ONNOGHEN, J.S.C
ISSUES FOR DETERMINATION – ISSUES FOR DETERMINATION FORMULATED BY A RESPONDENT MUST BE ANCHORED IN THE GROUNDS OF APPEAL
“No one is saying that a respondent in an appeal cannot raise an issue for determination of the appeal either on jurisdiction or otherwise but that the issue(s) so raised must be anchored in the grounds of appeal which must in turn arise from the ratio in the judgment on appeal, otherwise the issue(s) formulated is/are grossly incompetent The reason, simply is that the judgment of a court of law is presumed valid and subsisting unless set aside by an appellate court of competent jurisdiction, upon a proper appeal or cross appeal”. PER W. S. N.ONNOGHEN, J.S.C
JURISDICTION – GUIDING PRINCIPLES IN RAISING AN ISSUE OF JURISDICTION BEFORE THE COURT
“It is true that jurisdiction can be raised at any stage of a proceeding from the trial Court to the penultimate Court and to the ultimate Court. But I do not subscribe to the view that jurisdiction of Court to determine a matter can be raised anyhow. No, the matter must be properly before the Court. One cannot import an issue from outside into the proceeding before a Court and invoke its jurisdiction PER N.S.NGWUTA, J.S.C
ISSUE OF JURISDICTION – AN ISSUE OF JURISDICTION CANNOT BE RAISED WITHOUT REGARD TO THE RULES OF COURT
“An issue of jurisdiction can be raised at any stage in the proceedings including on appeal but that does not mean that there are no rules governing the raising of an issue of jurisdiction or that it can be raised without regard to the Rules of Court crafted or designed to aid parties to obtain justice in the court of law”. PER W. S. N.ONNOGHEN, J.S.C
APPEAL – DUTY OF A RESPONDENT TO AN APPEAL
“It is settled law and practice that the duty of a respondent to an appeal is to defend the judgment of the court below which is usually in his favour. His duty is not to attack the judgment already given in his favour except where he disagrees with some aspects of the judgment in which case he is required to file a cross appeal in which he prays the appellate court to set aside the aspect of the judgment he considers against his interest or for the court to consider an aspect of the case he put forward at the lower court which the lower court failed and/or neglected to consider and determine in its judgment”. PER W. S. N.ONNOGHEN, J.S.C
APPEAL – BASIS OF THE ISSUES FOR DETERMINATION FORMULATED BY A RESPONDENT WHO HAS NOT FILED A CROSS-APPEAL
“Where the respondent has not filed a cross-appeal, the issues for determination formulated by him must arise from the grounds of appeal filed by the appellant. See Ogundare v. Ogunlowo {1997) 6 NWLR (Pt. 509) 360; Padawu v. Jatau (2003) 5 NWLR (Pt. 813) 247”. PER N.S.NGWUTA, J.S.C
GROUND OF APPEAL – GROUND OF APPEAL IS THE RATIO DECIDENDI OF THE JUDGMENT APPEALED AGAINST
“It is the appellant, the aggrieved party, who appeals the judgment against him. Ground of appeal is on the ratio decidendi of the judgment appealed against and the issues to be determined must flow from the grounds of appeal. See Ono v. JSC Delta State (2000) 7 SC (Pt. 11) p.l.” PER N.S.NGWUTA, J.S.C
APPEAL – MEANING OF AN APPEAL
“An appeal is an invitation to a higher Court to review the decision of a lower Court to find out whether on a proper examination of the facts placed before it and the applicable law, the lower Court arrived at a correct decision. It is a complaint against the decision appealed against, be it that of the trial Court or the Court below the appellate Court. See Lawrence Adebola Aredoyin & ors v. Arowolo (1989) 4 NWLR (Pt. 114) 172 at 211.” PER N.S.NGWUTA, J.S.C
JURISDICTION – MEANING OF JURISDICTION
“Jurisdiction in its strict sense is the limits which is imposed upon the power of a validly constituted court to hear and determine issues properly brought before it by due reference to
1 the subject matter in issue.
2 the persons between whom the issue is joined and
3 the kind of relief sought
See Adeyemi vs Opeyori (1976) 9-10 31 Ikine vs Edjezode (2001) 92 LRCN 3288 at 3316 Aladegbemi vs Fasanmode (1988) 3 NWLR(Pt 81) 129.” PER N.S.NGWUTA, J.S.C
JURISDICTION – CONDITION FOR INVOKING THE JURISDICTION OF THE COURT OF APPEAL
“The issue, though within the jurisdiction of the trial Court must be brought before the Court of Appeal by way of appellate practice and procedure before the jurisdiction of the Court below can be invoked, otherwise the issue is incompetent and liable to be struck out. Jurisdiction is not a magic wand that a party can wave to induce the Court, trial or appellate, to deal with issues not properly brought before it.” PER N.S.NGWUTA, J.S.C
ISSUES FOR DETERMINATION – ISSUES IN APPEAL CAN ONLY VALIDLY ARISE FROM GROUNDS OF APPEAL OR CROSS- APPEAL
“It is settled law that issues in appeal can only validly arise from the grounds of appeal or cross appeal and that where an issue or issues for determination does/do not arise from the grounds of appeal, such an issue(s) is/are incompetent and liable to be struck out.” PER W. S. N.ONNOGHEN, J.S.C
CASES CITED
STATUTES REFERRED TO
Court of Appeal Rules, 2002