APPELLATE PRACTICE — Preliminary Objection — Effect of Competent Notice of Appeal
Principle Statement
Upon finding the instant Notice of Appeal and the nine Grounds of Appeal therein to be competent and duly filed then grounds 2, 3, and 4 of the grounds for raising the preliminary objection as set out above become otiose and utterly of no moment; in which case the record of appeal as prepared by the Registrar and remitted to this court and the appellant's brief of argument filed pursuant to the entry of the appeal in this court would have procedurally fallen into proper place and thus render the question of abuse of process a non-issue as a ground for the instant objection.
Ratio Decidendi (Source)
Per Chukwuma-Eneh, JSC, in General Electric Company v. Akande & Ors (2010) NLC-3372008(SC) at p. 2; Paras A–C.
"Upon finding the instant Notice of Appeal and the nine Grounds of Appeal therein to be competent and duly filed then grounds 2, 3, and 4 of the grounds for raising the preliminary objection as set out above become otiose and utterly of no moment; in which case the record of appeal as prepared by the Registrar and remitted to this court and the appellant's brief of argument filed pursuant to the entry of the appeal in this court would have procedurally fallen into proper place and thus render the question of abuse of process a non-issue as a ground for the instant objection."
Explanation / Scope
This principle establishes that once a notice of appeal is found competent, preliminary objection grounds attacking it become otiose. The principle applies where a preliminary objection challenges the competence of the appeal. It ensures that objections are determined on their merits. The principle reflects that a competent notice of appeal resolves procedural challenges. It prevents objections from being maintained after competence is established. The court must determine competence first. The principle provides guidance on the effect of finding a notice of appeal competent.
