CORAM

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SAMSON O. UWAIFO, JUSTICE, SUPREME COURT

EMMANUEL OLAYINKA AYOOLA, JUSTICE, SUPREME COURT

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PARTIES

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PROFESSOR V.O.S. OLUNLOYO (CARRYING ON BUSINESS UNDER THE NAME AND STYLE OF ‘TAKCON ASSOCIATES’) APPELLANTS

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RESPONDENTS

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AREA(S) OF LAW

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SUMMARY OF FACTS

The appellant was granted stay of execution on the condition that he pays the mesne profits or damages as contained in the judgment and continue to pay N500, 000 per annum pending the determination of the appeal.

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HELD

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The court dismissed the appeal and held that the lower courts were right in granting the conditional stay.

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ISSUES

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Whether or not the Court of Appeal applied the correct principles in its Ruling by upholding the Ruling of the trial court in the exercise of its undoubted judicial discretion in granting the defendant a conditional stay of execution of its Judgment instead of an unconditional stay as sought by the Defendant/Appellant.

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RATIONES DECIDENDI

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CONSIDERATION FOR THE GRANT OF STAY OF EXECUTION

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A stay of execution will only be granted if and only if, the court is satisfied that there are special or exceptional circumstances to warrant doing so, because the principle of law is that a judgment of a court of law is presumed to be correct and rightly made until the contrary is proved or established. Courts will not therefore make the practice of depriving a successful litigant of the fruits of his success – Kutigi J.S.C

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CASES CITED

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1. Okafor v. Nnaife (1987) 4 N.W.L.R. (Pt. 64) 129.2. Martins v. Nicannar Food Co. Ltd. (1988) 3 S.C. 429,3. Shodeinde v. Trustee in Islam (1980)1- 2 S.C. 163,4. Vaswani Trading Co. Ltd. v. Savalakh & Ors. (1972) 12 SC. 77

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STATUTES REFERRED TO

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None

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