CONSTITUTIONAL LAW ā Right to Property ā Section 44(1), 1999 Constitution ā Property Not to Be Taken Except by Due Process
Principle Statement
No citizen may be deprived of his property without due process of law. Judgment was given against the appellant and his properties sold. The judgment was later set aside as a nullity, yet due process did not restore his properties. The system denied the appellant his right to justice and to his properties.
Ratio Decidendi (Source)
Per Oguntade, JSC, in Saleh v. Monguno (2006) NLC-123-403-2001(SC) at p. 36; Paras CāE.
"No citizen may be deprived of his property without the due process of law. It was under the due process of law that judgment was given against the appellant and his properties sold. It was by the force of the same due process of law that the judgment of the High Court was set aside as a nullity by the Court below. Why did the same due process not restore the appellant's properties to him? It seems to me that the system has denied the appellant his right to justice and to his properties."
Explanation / Scope
Due process protects property rights. When a judgment is set aside as a nullity, property sold under it should be restored. The principle applies to constitutional law and enforcement of judgments.
