Principle Archive

The exercise of appellate jurisdiction is statutory; a court cannot exercise jurisdiction to hear an appeal unless conferred by the Constitution or statute; there is no…

Where a party has lost a claim for declaratory relief and permanent injunction in a competent court and the appellate court concludes positively that the appellant…

A plaintiff who pleads exclusive ownership and possession of family land as against the family title cannot succeed based on mere possession against a defendant claiming…

Where a purchaser of family land pays the purchase price, presents customary gifts, and is given possession by the family, a valid title is conferred notwithstanding…

The principle requiring a family head's consent for valid sale of family land presupposes the existence of a family head; where no head exists at the…

A contractual right in a union constitution permitting individual members to sue for constitutional breaches operates as an exception to the rule in Foss v. Harbottle,…

A union constitution that expressly confers on individual members the right to initiate legal action at their own expense for breaches of the constitution creates a…

Section 18(1) of the Trade Unions Act confers locus standi on any five members of a trade union to apply to the High Court for an…

When the civil rights and obligations of individuals are affected, they have locus standi to seek judicial determination of such rights, and this constitutional right cannot…

During military rule, decrees constitute the supreme law of Nigeria, and all other laws including the Constitution are subordinate to decrees.

Following the modification of section 212 of the 1979 Constitution, the Supreme Court possesses no constitutional original jurisdiction unless expressly conferred by law.

A military decree that modifies a constitutional provision effectively substitutes an entirely new provision for the original, completely wiping out the original constitutional provision and any…