LEGAL PRINCIPLE: APPELLATE PRACTICE – Grounds of Appeal – Court’s Power to Disregard Particulars to Save Grounds
PRINCIPLE STATEMENT
It is not the duty of the court to disregard some particulars to save grounds of appeal; it is for the appellant to move the court appropriately to amend his grounds if they do not correctly convey his complaints.
RATIO DECIDENDI (SOURCE)
Per Ogundare, JSC, in Orakosim & Ors v. Menkiti (2001) NLC-811995(SC) at pp. 9–10; Paras D–A.
"Learned Counsel for the appellants has urged us to disregard some of the particulars to the grounds of appeal in order to save them. I do not think that is the duty of the Court. It is for an appellant to move the court in the appropriate manner to amend his grounds of appeal, if he thinks they do not correctly convey the complaints he has against the judgment on appeal."
EXPLANATION / SCOPE
The court will not disregard or excise parts of a ground of appeal to salvage it. If a ground is defective, the appellant must seek amendment through the proper procedure. The court cannot rewrite the appellant’s case. The principle maintains the adversarial nature of appeals. The appellant bears responsibility for the grounds filed. The court will not cure defects by selective reading. If a ground is incompetent due to its particulars, it remains incompetent unless amended. The appellant cannot ask the court to ignore problematic language. The proper remedy is to apply to amend the notice of appeal. The court will consider such applications on their merits.
