Legal Principles – Nigerian LawCompass

Civil Procedure Important

CIVIL PROCEDURE – Appeals – Preliminary Objection – Ground of Appeal – Preliminary Objection Must Relate to Ground of Appeal

"The appellant was perfectly justified in discussing this issue in paragraph 9.0 at p. 16 of his brief. This objection is therefore overruled."

Appellate Practice Important

APPELLATE PRACTICE – Grounds of Appeal – Omnibus Ground – Meaning and Scope

"This, generally speaking, is said to imply that the judgment of the trial court cannot be supported by the weight of the evidence adduced by the successful party which the...

Appellate Practice Important

APPELLATE PRACTICE – Issues for Determination – Relationship with Grounds of Appeal

"Issues or questions for determination in an appeal are framed from the grounds of appeal before the court. Consequently any issue, argument or other part of a brief which has...

Appellate Practice Important

APPELLATE PRACTICE – Issues for Determination – Relationship to Grounds of Appeal – Whether Issues Must Be Distilled from Grounds of Appeal

"It is a mandatory requirement that an issue for the determination of appeal must relate to and be distilled from any of the grounds of appeal. If it does not...

Appellate Practice Important

APPELLATE PRACTICE – Abandonment of Grounds of Appeal – Effect of Failure to Formulate Issue

"An appellant is at liberty to withdraw or abandon any of his grounds of appeal. He may withdraw a ground of appeal by applying to the Court to do so....

Appellate Practice Important

APPELLATE PRACTICE – Grounds of Appeal – Competency – Grounds Must Arise from Court Below

"In her purported appeal before this court the appellant attempted to raise the issues of lack of witness to the sale, lack of handing over of the two rooms sold...

Appellate Practice Important

APPELLATE PRACTICE – Grounds of Appeal – Issues Raised for First Time – Leave Requirement

"Appeals go from the Court of Appeal to this court and where any issue is being raised for the 1st time before this court the pre-requisite to do so is...

Appellate Practice Important

APPELLATE PRACTICE – Grounds of Appeal – Question of Law Alone – Where Ground Complains of Failure to Fulfil Legal Obligation

"Where the ground of appeal complains that the tribunal has failed to fulfil an obligation cast upon it by law in the process of coming to a decision in the...

Appellate Practice Important

APPELLATE PRACTICE – Grounds of Appeal – Distinction Between Question of Law, Fact, and Mixed Law and Fact – Approach to Determination

"The approach to the determination whether a ground of appeal involves a question of law or of fact or of mixed law and fact... what is required is to examine...

Appellate Practice Important

APPELLATE PRACTICE – Amendment of Grounds of Appeal – Discretion to Grant Leave – Principles Governing Exercise of Discretion

"The discretion to grant leave to a party to amend his ground of appeal is liberally exercised in so far as an amendment can be made without injustice to the...

Appellate Practice Important

APPELLATE PRACTICE – Issues for Determination – Grounds of Appeal Subsumed in Issues

"I ought to stress in the first place that it is the issues distilled from all appellant's grounds of appeal that may be argued in the Court of Appeal or...

Appellate Practice Important

APPELLATE PRACTICE – Grounds of Appeal – Incompetent Issues Not Covered by Grounds of Appeal

"An appellate court can only hear and decide on issues raised on the grounds of appeal filed before it and an issue not covered by any ground of appeal is...