LEGAL PRINCIPLE: JURISDICTION — Jurisdiction of Court — High Court — Constitutional Grant of Unlimited Jurisdiction — Effect on Pre-Existing State Laws
PRINCIPLE STATEMENT
An examination of the provisions of the 1979 Constitution reveals that the Constitution has been positive and clear, and loud not silent or secretive in the language used in granting jurisdiction to the courts it has created and the courts to be created by law passed by a State House of Assembly .... It is the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who granted unlimited jurisdiction to the High Court they established for the State and not the people of the State.
RATIO DECIDENDI (SOURCE)
Per Obaseki, JSC (as approved in the lead judgment) Okulate & Ors v. Awosanya & Ors (2000) NLC-1981992(SC) at p. 7; Paras. A–C.
"An examination of the provisions of the 1979 Constitution reveals that the Constitution has been positive and clear, and loud not silent or secretive in the language used in granting jurisdiction to the courts it has created and the courts to be created by law passed by a State House of Assembly .... It is the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who granted unlimited jurisdiction to the High Court they established for the State and not the people of the State."
EXPLANATION / SCOPE
The Constitution confers unlimited jurisdiction on State High Courts directly, not derivatively through state legislation. This jurisdiction emanates from the sovereign people of Nigeria, not from state governments. Consequently, pre-existing state laws that purport to limit High Court jurisdiction are overridden by the constitutional grant. State legislatures cannot diminish or restrict the jurisdiction constitutionally vested in courts. The High Court’s jurisdiction is defined by the Constitution, and any conflicting state law is void. This ensures uniform judicial power across the federation.