A Jurisprudential Map of Supreme Court Authority Across Nigerian Law
By Levi I. Shaapera, Esq.
2430 Supreme Court Principles
Introduction: Beyond a Law Book, Toward a Canon
Every legal system reaches a point where its accumulated judicial wisdom demands more than scattered law reports and fragmented citations. It calls for order, structure, and permanence. Nigerian Courtroom Canon answers that call.
This work is not a textbook in the conventional sense, nor is it a simple case digest. It is a systematic canonisation of Supreme Court jurisprudence, distilling 2,430 authoritative principles across over fifty substantive and procedural areas of Nigerian law, drawn directly from the pronouncements of the apex court.
In both ambition and execution, Nigerian Courtroom Canon positions itself as a jurisprudential atlas—a work designed to guide judges, practitioners, scholars, and advanced students through the full terrain of Nigerian adjudication.
Conceptual Foundation and Method
At the heart of Nigerian Courtroom Canon lies a deliberate methodological choice:
to let the Supreme Court speak for itself.
Rather than burdening the reader with extended academic commentary, the author curates and organises binding judicial dicta, carefully extracted, precisely cited, and arranged thematically. Each principle is:
- Direct – stated in the words of the Court
- Authoritative – traceable to decided cases
- Contextualised – placed within its doctrinal field
- Practically deployable – usable in courtrooms, chambers, and judgments
The result is a work that privileges clarity over verbosity, authority over opinion, and utility over ornamentation.
Architectural Scope: Over Fifty Parts, One Coherent Vision
One of the defining strengths of Nigerian Courtroom Canon is its extraordinary breadth. The book is organised into more than fifty Parts, each devoted to a distinct field or doctrinal cluster within Nigerian law. Together, they form a coherent and interconnected body of jurisprudence.
Without attempting an exhaustive restatement, the Parts span:
1. Judicial Process and Procedure
Covering abuse of process, jurisdiction, competence of courts, service of process, preliminary objections, stay of execution, non-suit, consolidation, demurrer, and procedural discipline.
2. Actions, Causes of Action, and Litigation Mechanics
Including academic suits, accrual of cause of action, reliefs, proper parties, joinder, representative actions, pre-action notices, and modes of commencement.
3. Appellate Law and Practice
One of the most expansive sections, addressing:
- Appeals as of right and with leave
- Grounds of appeal and formulation of issues
- Concurrent findings
- Amendment of notices
- Briefs of argument
- Records of appeal
- Preliminary objections
- Functus officio
- Supreme Court and Court of Appeal jurisdiction
This section alone functions as a complete appellate practice manual grounded in Supreme Court authority.
4. Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution
A detailed and rare consolidation of Supreme Court principles on:
- Arbitration clauses
- Jurisdictional boundaries
- Enforcement and setting aside of awards
- Customary arbitration
- Arbitrator misconduct, bias, and powers
5. Civil Procedure in Depth
From pleadings to judgment-writing, discretionary powers, technicalities versus substantial justice, adjournments, amendments, summary judgment, and undefended lists.
6. Substantive Private Law
Including:
- Contract
- Commercial law
- Company law
- Banking
- Agency
- Bailment
- Conveyancing
- Auction sales
Each field is treated through settled Supreme Court doctrine, not abstract theory.
7. Public Law
With extensive treatment of:
- Constitutional law
- Fair hearing
- Separation of powers
- Legislative and executive limits
- Fundamental rights
- Administrative law
- Contempt of court
8. Customary and Specialized Fields
Covering chieftaincy law, customary arbitration, aviation, auction law, and other specialised areas often scattered or underrepresented in mainstream texts.
9. Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure
A monumental section addressing:
- Burden and standard of proof
- Confessions and trial-within-trial
- Alibi, provocation, self-defence, insanity
- Armed robbery, murder, conspiracy, kidnapping
- Arraignment, charges, conviction, sentencing
- Appellate intervention in criminal matters
This section reflects decades of Supreme Court refinement of criminal justice standards.
Thematic Unity: Law as a Living System
Despite its size, Nigerian Courtroom Canon is not disjointed. The Parts are united by recurring judicial values:
- Fair hearing as a constitutional constant
- Hostility to procedural abuse
- Respect for jurisdictional boundaries
- Deference to trial courts on credibility
- Finality of appellate decisions
- Primacy of substance over technicality—within lawful bounds
These themes recur across fields, reinforcing the idea of Nigerian law as one integrated system, not isolated silos.
Intended Audience and Practical Utility
Nigerian Courtroom Canon is designed for:
- Judges and Magistrates – as a bench companion
- Litigators and appellate advocates – for pleadings and addresses
- Law lecturers and postgraduate researchers – for doctrinal clarity
- Advanced law students – for mastery of Supreme Court reasoning
- Law libraries and judicial institutes – as a reference work
Its structure allows both quick consultation and deep doctrinal study.
Contribution to Nigerian Legal Scholarship
The enduring contribution of Nigerian Courtroom Canon lies in its canon-forming ambition. By organising Supreme Court principles across more than fifty fields into a single, disciplined work, it:
- Promotes certainty and consistency in legal reasoning
- Preserves judicial wisdom beyond ephemeral law reports
- Strengthens procedural discipline and ethical litigation
- Serves as a bridge between practice and scholarship
In an era marked by information overload and fragmented sources, the book restores order to authority.
Conclusion: A National Legal Reference Work
Nigerian Courtroom Canon is best understood not merely as a book, but as a jurisprudential infrastructure—a structured repository of Nigeria’s highest judicial thought.
It is a work that respects the past decisions of the Supreme Court, serves the present needs of the Bar and Bench, and equips future generations with a stable doctrinal foundation.
For the Nigerian legal community, this is not just another publication.
It is, in the fullest sense, a canon.
For enquiries, orders, or institutional access:
LawCompass Limited
📞 07018899999
