Order 9 — Appearance

(1) A Defendant that is within jurisdiction who is served with an originating process shall, within 21 days, file in the Registry the original and copy of a duly completed and signed memorandum of appearance as in Form 11 with such modifications or variations as circumstances may require.

(2) A Defendant who is outside jurisdiction and is served with an originating process shall, within 30 days, file in the Registry the original and copy of a duly completed and signed memorandum of appearance as in Form 11 with such modifications or variations as circumstances may require.

(3) On receipt of the memorandum of appearance, the Registrar shall make entry thereof in the cause book and stamp the copy showing the date the Registrar received the process, and serve a copy thereof on the Plaintiff or, as the case may be, on the Plaintiff’s Legal Practitioner.

(1) A Defendant appearing in person shall state, in the memorandum of appearance, an address for service which shall be within Kaduna State, his telephone number(s) and email address (where available).

(2) Where a Defendant appears by a Legal Practitioner, the Legal Practitioner shall state, in the memorandum of appearance, his place of business and an address for service which shall be within Kaduna State, his telephone number(s) and email address, and where any such Legal Practitioner is only the agent of another Legal Practitioner, he shall also insert the name and place of business of the principal Legal Practitioner.

The Registrar shall not accept any memorandum of appearance, which does not contain an address for service within jurisdiction. If any such address is illusory, fictitious or misleading, the appearance may be set aside by a Judge on the application of the Plaintiff or other parties.

If two or more Defendants in the same action appear through the same Legal Practitioner, the memorandum of appearance shall include the names of all Defendants so appearing.

If a Defendant files an appearance after the time prescribed in the originating process, the Defendant shall pay to the Court a default fee of N100.00 (one hundred naira) per day for the first fourteen (14) days of default, and N200.00 (two hundred naira) for each further day of default.

In probate matters, any person not named in the originating process may intervene and appear in the matter on filing an affidavit showing the intervener’s interest in the estate of the deceased.

Any person not named as a Defendant in an originating process for recovery of land may, with leave of a Judge, appear and defend on filing an affidavit showing that the person who is seeking leave is in possession of the land either in person or through a tenant.

Any person appearing to defend an action for the recovery of land as landlord, in respect of property of which the person is in possession only through a tenant, the person shall state in the memorandum of appearance that the person appears as landlord.

A person under legal disability shall enter an appearance by a guardian.

In this Order the word “Tenant” includes a sub-tenant or any person occupying any premises whether on payment of rent or otherwise.