FIDELIS UGWU v. THE STATE
April 19, 2025AFRIBANK NIGERIA PLC (SUING THROUGH AND BY THE 2ND – 5TH PLAINTIFFS) & ORS V. NIGERIAN DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION & ORS
April 19, 2025Legalpedia Citation: (2025-02) Legalpedia 67581 (SC)
In the Supreme Court of Nigeria
Fri Feb 21, 2025
Suit Number: SC.47/2010
CORAM
Helen Moronkeji Ogunwumiju Justice Supreme Court of Nigeria
Emmanuel Akomaye Agim Justice Supreme Court of Nigeria
Haruna Simon Tsammani Justice Supreme Court of Nigeria
Obande Festus Ogbuinya Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria
Mohammed Baba Idris Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria
PARTIES
WEMA BANK PLC
APPELLANTS
1. ALHAJI ASANI AWOTUNDE
2. SHERIFF HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE, OSHOGBO, OSUN STATE
3. CHIEF KEHINDE TEN IO LA
4. JIMOH BODE BABALOLA
RESPONDENTS
AREA(S) OF LAW
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW, APPEAL, LEGAL PRACTICE, STARE DECISIS, JUDICIAL PRECEDENT, CIVIL PROCEDURE, LEGAL PRACTITIONERS ACT, PROFESSIONAL ETHICS, LEGAL DRAFTING
SUMMARY OF FACTS
This case revolves around the validity of a Notice of Appeal signed by a law firm rather than an individual legal practitioner. The Appellant (Wema Bank PLC) had filed a Notice of Appeal dated August 23, 2006, at the Court of Appeal, which was signed by and in the name of “Musibau Adetunbi & Co.” rather than an individual legal practitioner. Realizing this defect, the Appellant filed a Motion on Notice dated October 27, 2009, seeking leave to amend the defective Notice of Appeal. The Court of Appeal refused to grant the reliefs sought in the Appellant’s Motion and struck out the appeal, relying on the Supreme Court’s decision in Okafor v. Nweke (2007). Dissatisfied, the Appellant appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the decision in Okafor v. Nweke was made per incuriam and should be overruled. The case had been in the Supreme Court docket for over 14 years before this judgment.
HELD
1. The appeal was dismissed.
2. The Supreme Court held that it remained steadfast and consistent in its position in Okafor v. Nweke, that a court process signed by a law firm rather than an individual legal practitioner is incompetent.
3. The Court reaffirmed that an incompetent Notice of Appeal cannot be amended, as “you cannot amend what is null and had never existed.”
4. The Court ordered costs of ₦1,000,000 (One Million Naira) against the Appellant in favor of each of the Respondents.
ISSUES
Whether the Supreme Court is bound by the doctrine of stare decisis and cannot, except where special circumstances are shown, depart from its views as expressed in Okafor v. Nweke and other appeals reviewing the same legal point and coming to the same legal conclusion?
RATIONES DECIDENDI
DOCTRINE OF STARE DECISIS – CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH THE SUPREME COURT CAN DEPART FROM ITS PREVIOUS DECISION
“More importantly, while it is conceded that this Court can depart from its previous judgment, in deserving cases, it can only do so where: a) It is shown that the previous decision is erroneous in law; or b) The previous decision was given per incuriam; or c) It is shown that the previous decision is contrary to public policy or is occasioning miscarriage of justice or perpetuating injustice. I can find nothing in the circumstances of this appeal that leads me to believe that the Appellant’s appeal or the facts therein fall within the category of decision that can be used as leverage to set aside the prior decision of this Court.” – Per HELEN MORONKEJI OGUNWUMIJU, J.S.C.
VALIDITY OF COURT PROCESS SIGNED BY A LAW FIRM – REAFFIRMATION OF OKAFOR V. NWEKE
“As stated earlier, the law on the validity vel non of a judicial process being signed by none else but a legal practitioner who is a natural person and who is registered as a Barrister and a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria is settled. See Okafor v. Nweke (Supra). An artificial person cannot be a legal practitioner pursuant to the Legal Practitioners Act.” – Per HELEN MORONKEJI OGUNWUMIJU, J.S.C.
POSTERIOR CONSTRUCTION – RULE FOR RESOLVING CONFLICTING DECISIONS
“Even if this was the opinion of this Court in Cole v. Mattins, the legal jurisprudential rule of posterior construction is to the effect that where there are two conflicting decisions of a superior Court, the decision which is later in time is to be followed.” – Per HELEN MORONKEJI OGUNWUMIJU, J.S.C.
REAFFIRMATION OF OKAFOR V. NWEKE – CONSISTENT COURT POSITION
“Thus, the import of FBN v. MAIWADA (2013) (SUPRA), YONGO & ORS v. HANONGON & ORS (2022) LPELR-57282 (SC), OYEKAN & ORS v. ABERUAGBA & ORS (2023) LPELR- 62196 (SC), HABU v. SULE & ORS (2024) LPELR-63002 (SC) seems to be lost on the Appellant that for the present dispensation and following the doctrine of stare decisis this Court remains steadfast and consistent in retaining its position in its decision in Okafor v. Nweke (supra).” – Per HELEN MORONKEJI OGUNWUMIJU, J.S.C.
INCOMPETENT NOTICE OF APPEAL – IMPOSSIBILITY OF AMENDMENT
“Suffice it to say that the law is settled that an incompetent notice of appeal cannot be amended as you cannot amend what is null and had never existed.” – Per HELEN MORONKEJI OGUNWUMIJU, J.S.C.
OKAFOR V. NWEKE AS A POLICY DECISION – PURPOSE BEHIND THE DECISION
“The decision in 2007 by this Court in Okafor v. Nweke (supra) is a policy decision of this Court. The foregoing is clear at page 532, paragraphs B – D per Onnoghen, JSC (as he then was), where the following pronouncement was made: ‘In arriving at the above conclusion, which is very obvious having regard to the law, I have taken into consideration the issue of substantial justice which is balanced on the other side of the scale of justice with the need to arrest the current embarrassing trend in legal practice where authentication or franking of legal documents, particularly processes for filing in the Courts have not been receiving the serious attention they deserve from some legal practitioners.'” – Per HELEN MORONKEJI OGUNWUMIJU, J.S.C.
INCOMPETENT PROCESS – EFFECT OF BUILDING ON A NULL FOUNDATION
“You cannot put something on nothing and expect it to stay there. It will collapse. So too with an attempt to amend a process there does not exist in law. You cannot expect to amend such a process and expect the amendment to have effect. It will fail. The result is that the lower Court lacked jurisdiction over a matter, it cannot validly exercise any judicial power over it.” – Per HARUNA SIMON TSAMMANI, J.S.C. (quoting from Macfoy v UAC)
INADEQUATE GROUNDS FOR OVERRULING OKAFOR V. NWEKE
“Indisputably, this Court is clothed with the requisite jurisdiction to review and set aside its previous decisions in deserving circumstances as catalogued in the leading judgment. However, the appellant bank, in its infinite wisdom, starved this Court of the presence of any of the deserving circumstances, warehoused in its appeal, that will compel this Court to overrule the decision in Okafor v. Nweke (supra) – a decision that has midwifed a galaxy of ex cathedra authorities in our corpus juris.” – Per OBANDE FESTUS OGBUINYA, J.S.C.
NOTICE OF APPEAL AS FOUNDATION OF APPEAL – EFFECT OF DEFECTS
“It must be borne in mind always and this is also settled that a Notice of Appeal is the foundation and substratum of every appeal. Any defect thereto or therein will render the whole appeal incompetent and the appellate Court will lack the required jurisdiction to entertain it or any interlocutory application based on the said appeal.” – Per MOHAMMED BABA IDRIS, J.S.C.
CONSISTENCY IN PRESENTATION OF CASES – PROHIBITION AGAINST APPROBATION AND REPROBATION
“The law is settled beyond any controversy that a party must be consistent in stating his case at the trial Court up to the appellate Court. A party is not allowed to present different cases before each hierarchy of Court as he likes. Put differently, a party is not allowed in the presentation of his case before the Court to approbate and reprobate.” – Per MOHAMMED BABA IDRIS, J.S.C.
SIGNATURE BY LAW FIRM – EFFECT ON COURT PROCESS
“It is clear that any process signed in the name of a law firm is incompetent and liable to be struck out. The effect of the ruling is not to shut out the applicant but to put the house of the legal practitioner in order by sending the necessary and right message to members that the urge to do substantial justice does not include illegality or encouragement of the attitude of ‘anything goes’.” – Per MOHAMMED BABA IDRIS, J.S.C.
EFFECT OF STRIKING OUT NOTICE OF APPEAL
“An appeal is initiated by a notice of appeal. Therefore, when a notice of appeal is struck out for being incompetent then there can be no appeal to be dismissed.” – Per MOHAMMED BABA IDRIS, J.S.C.
“An appeal is initiated by a notice of appeal. Therefore, when a notice of appeal is struck out for being incompetent then there can be no appeal to be dismissed.” – Per MOHAMMED BABA IDRIS, J.S.C.
“An appeal is initiated by a notice of appeal. Therefore, when a notice of appeal is struck out for being incompetent then there can be no appeal to be dismissed.” – Per MOHAMMED BABA IDRIS, J.S.C.
CASES CITED
STATUTES REFERRED TO
• Legal Practitioners Act, Cap L11, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004
• Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended)
