CONSTITUTIONAL LAW — Fair Hearing — Right to Fair Hearing Lies in Procedure Not Correctness of Decision
Principle Statement
The right of fair hearing is a fundamental and constitutional right of a party to a dispute to be afforded an opportunity to present its case to the adjudicating authority. It lies in the procedure followed in the determination of a case, not in the correctness of the decision of the case.
Ratio Decidendi (Source)
Per Edozie, JSC, in Ekpeto & Ors v. Wanogho & Ors (2004) NLC-1932001(SC) at pp. 12–13; Paras E–A.
"The right of fair hearing is a fundamental and constitutional right of a party to a dispute to be afforded an opportunity to present its case to the adjudicating authority. It lies in the procedure followed in the determination of a case, not in the correctness of the decision of the case."
Explanation / Scope
This draws a critical distinction between procedural fairness and substantive correctness. Fair hearing concerns the procedure—whether a party was given an opportunity to present its case—not whether the eventual decision was right or wrong. A party may receive full fair hearing yet lose the case on the merits. This serves: focusing fair hearing analysis on process rather than outcome, preventing litigants from repackaging substantive errors as fair hearing violations, and maintaining analytical clarity. This prevents: conflating an unfavorable decision with denial of fair hearing, using fair hearing claims to challenge substantive findings improperly, and expanding fair hearing beyond its intended scope. The court cannot: set aside a correct decision simply because a party disagrees with it, or treat every error as a fair hearing violation. Effect: A party alleging denial of fair hearing must show procedural defect (e.g., no notice, no opportunity to be heard), not merely that the court decided against them on the merits.
