MRS. SINMISOLA CAREW VS MRS. IYABO OMOLARA OGUNTOKUN

CORAM

CHARLES OLUSOJI MADARIKAN

UMARU ATU KALGO, JUSTICE SUPREME COURT

UDO UDOMA

ALOYSIUS IYORGYER KATSINA-ALU, JUSTICE SUPREME COURT

MUHAMMED LAWAL SHUAIBU JUSTICE COURT OF APPEL

PARTIES

MRS. SINMISOLA CAREW APPELLANTS

MRS. IYABO OMOLARA OGUNTOKUN RESPONDENTS

AREA(S) OF LAW

SUMMARY OF FACTS

The Applicant/Appellant initiated a court proceeding against the Respondents by way of originating summons, seeking the determination of the certain questions regarding the Will of Late Alhaja Adijatu Ayoola Balogun. The 2nd Respondent thereafter filed a motion on notice for an order setting aside the issue and service of the Originating Summons caused to be issued and served by the Applicant. The learned counsel for the applicant moved the motion and the learned trial judge considered all the submissions and at the end of the day dismissed the application. Dissatisfied, the 2nd Respondent appealed and the Court of appeal found merit in the appeal and allowed it, for it found that the trial court lacked jurisdiction. The applicant in the trial court was not happy with the decision and has appealed to this court.

HELD

Appeal dismissed

ISSUES

The Applicant/Appellant initiated a court proceeding against the Respondents by way of originating summons, seeking the determination of the certain questions regarding the Will of Late Alhaja Adijatu Ayoola Balogun. The 2nd Respondent thereafter filed a motion on notice for an order setting aside the issue and service of the Originating Summons caused to be issued and served by the Applicant. The learned counsel for the applicant moved the motion and the learned trial judge considered all the submissions and at the end of the day dismissed the application. Dissatisfied, the 2nd Respondent appealed and the Court of appeal found merit in the appeal and allowed it, for it found that the trial court lacked jurisdiction. The applicant in the trial court was not happy with the decision and has appealed to this court.

RATIONES DECIDENDI

HOW LOCUS STANDI IS DETERMINED

“The standi of a party must be viewed against his competence or right to institute an action in a court of law to seek redress, reliefs or assertion of a right that can be enforced by law. The term denotes the legal capacity of a party to institute legal proceedings in a court of law against another party.”

ABANDONMENT OF ISSUE

“It is a cardinal principle of law that any process that is filed in court, and which the party who has filed it has not deemed it necessary to pursue, either by taking further steps or doing certain things like moving the court, in compliance with requirements of the law, as in this case, the court will be correct to assume that the process has been abandoned by the party, and so deem the said process as duly abandoned”

CASES CITED

Attorney General, Kaduna State v. Hassan 1985 2 NWLR part 8 page 483|Ladejobi v. Oguntayo 2004 18 NWLR part 904 page 149|Tiza v. Begha 2005 15 NWLR part 949 page 616

STATUTES REFERRED TO

Lagos State High Court Civil Procedure Rules|Legal Practitioners Act, Cap 207, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990|

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