CIVIL PROCEDURE — Cause of Action — Definition and Determination from Statement of Claim
Ratio Decidendi
Per Mukhtar, JSC, in Abubakar v. Bebeji Oil and Allied Products Ltd (2007) NLC-123-110-2001(SC) at pp. 23–24; Paras D–A:
"A cause of action arises from circumstances containing different facts that give rise to a claim that can be enforced in a court of law, and thus lead to right to sue a person responsible for the existence, either directly or by extension of such circumstances. There must in essence be wrongful act of a party (i.e. the party sued), which has injured or given the plaintiff a reason to complain in a court of law for remedy of consequent damage to the party aggrieved."
Explanation / Scope
A cause of action is the factual foundation upon which a claim is based. It consists of every fact that the plaintiff must prove to obtain judgment. The essential elements are: (1) a wrongful act or omission by the defendant; (2) which has caused damage or injury to the plaintiff; and (3) which entitles the plaintiff to a legal remedy. The cause of action is determined from the statement of claim read as a whole—not from the reliefs claimed or the defendant’s response. It crystallizes at the moment the wrongful act occurs, not when the damage is discovered. A plaintiff cannot have two causes of action on the same facts; attempting to split a cause of action is impermissible. The court examines the pleadings to identify the operative facts giving rise to the claim and to determine whether the plaintiff has disclosed a reasonable cause of action.