LEGAL PRINCIPLE: CIVIL PROCEDURE – Reliefs – Grant of Unclaimed Reliefs – Competency of Court to Grant Reliefs Not Sought
PRINCIPLE STATEMENT
A court is not competent to grant reliefs that were not sought by the parties; such gratuitous reliefs are void and must be set aside.
RATIO DECIDENDI (SOURCE)
Per Ogwuegbu, JSC, in Adeye & Ors v. Adesanya & Ors (2001) NLC-1181995(SC) at p. 8; Paras B–C.
"I agree that the learned trial Judge went beyond the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs when he ordered the Epe Local Government Council to make and register Chieftaincy declaration for Alaketu of Ketu chieftaincy reflecting Osokeji Atesimara as the only ruling house within three months from its judgment and prescribing the time within which the vacancy should be filled. As these reliefs were not before him, he was not competent to grant them. They were gratuitously made and are hereby set aside."
EXPLANATION / SCOPE
A court cannot grant reliefs not prayed for by the parties. Such gratuitous reliefs are made without jurisdiction and must be set aside. The court’s role is to adjudicate the disputes presented, not to create additional remedies. The principle ensures fair hearing—the defendant must know the reliefs sought to prepare a defence. Granting unclaimed reliefs violates the adversarial principle. The court cannot sua sponte expand the scope of the case. Even if the court believes the relief is justified, it cannot grant it without a prayer. The proper course is to invite amendment, not to act unilaterally. The principle is fundamental to civil procedure.
