CI

VILPROCEDUREBYFELI
XCHI
BUI
KE(
07089621300)
Civil
pr ocedur eist hebodyofl awt hatregulatest hepr ocesst hatcour tsmustf oll
owwhen
hearingcasesofaci vilnature(a"civi
laction,"asopposedt oacr imi nal acti
on) .Civi
lprocedure
refer
sonl ytofor m andpr ocedure,andnott ot hesubst antivel awt hatgi vespeopl etherightt
o
sueordef endal awsui t
.Itcanbeenact edbyei therthel egislatureort hecour ts.Apr ocedural
system pr ov i
dest hemechani sm forappl yi
ngsubst antivel awt oreal disputes.Suchasy st
em
setsgui delinesast owhati nformat i
ont hejudgeorj uryr eceives, howt hatinformat i
oni stobe
present ed,andbywhatst andardsofpr oof( e.g.,"
bey ondar easonabl edoubt ,""byclearand
conv i
nci ngev i
dence, ""byapr eponder anceoft heev i
dence" )theinf ormat ionwi llbeadjudged.
Anef fect i
vepr ocedur alsystem ensurest hatsi milarcaseswi ll betreat edsimi l
arlybyt hecourt
s.

PARTI
ESTOANACTI
ON

Inacivi
llawsui
t,t
hepersonwhof i
lesthelawsuitiscall
edthepl
aint
iff
,andtheper
sonbeing
suediscall
edthedefendant
.Usuallyaplai
nti
ffdecideswhen,where,andwhom sheorhewant
s
tosue.Insomecasesapl ai
nti
ffmaywi shtojoi
n, oradd,ot
herpart
iesaft
erthest
artoft
he
l
awsuit.Part
iest
oanact i
oninciv
ilproceedi
ngsi ncl
ude;

PROPERPARTI
ES

DESI
RABLEPARTI
ES

NECESSARYPARTI
ES

NOMI
NALPARTI
ES

1.ProperPart
ies:
Apr operpar
tyi
sany onewhoisdi
rectl
yaf
fect
edbyt
hesubjectmat
teroft
he
sui
t.heisjoi
nedbecauseofthepart
icularr
olehepl
ayedwhi
chledt
othecauseofact
ion.

2.Desirabl
ePar t
ies:Thesear
eparti
eswhoar enotori
ginal
l
ypart
iestot
heactionorwhose
presencearenotsonecessaryforef
fect
ivecompleti
onofthecasebutnevert
hel
ess,needsto
beapar tysothathewi l
lbeboundbythedeci
sioninthecasesi
ncethedecisi
onmaydi r
ectl
y
affecthi
m.

3.NecessaryPar
ties:Ast
hei
rnameimply,
theyareneededandnecessar
yforeff
ect
ive
det
erminati
onofthecaseandinwhoseabsence,
theproceedi
ngcannotbefai
rl
ydeal
twit
h.

4.NominalPar
ti
es:Theset
ypeofpart
iesdonothav
eint
eresti
nthecasebutbasedont
hei
r
off
ice,
shoul
dbejoinedtot
hecase.

Note:I
tisi
mport
antt onot
et hatt
heJoi
nder
,oraddi
ti
on,ofapr
operpar
tyinapendi
nglawsui
tis
enti
rel
ypermi
ssi
ble.Thecourtmayall
owthejoi
nderofanaddi
ti
onal
part
y,butt
helawsui
tdoes
nothavetobedi
smi ssedi
fitdoesnot
.
 LEGALCAPACI
TYTOSUEANDBESUED

I
tisapr i
nci
pleofl
awthatt
hepersonwhobri
ngsanacti
onorSuitbef
oret
heCourtoraperson
againstwhom aSui
toranact
ioniscommencedagai
nstmustbeapersonei
therar
ti
fi
cial
or
natural
.

Gi
v enthatthequest
ionofcapaci
tyorcompetencetosueorbesuedisajuri
sdi
cti
onalmat
ter
,
ei
therpartytotheSuitort
heCourtmaypointtothatquest
ionatanyt
imeinanyj
udici
al
pr
oceedings.

InCORPORATEMESSENGERSLTDv .UNDERWATERENGI NEERING(NI

G)LTD&ANOR( 2017)
LPELR-45216theCour tst
atedthat“…thecapacit
ytosuei sacondi
ti
onprecedenttot
he
j
uri
sdict
ionofthetr
ialCourttoenter
tai
nthesuit.I
tistheref
oreaprel
imi
naryissuewhi
chis
ext
raneoustothehearingofthesubstanti
vesuiti
tsel
f.Capacit
ytosuei
stherefor
eacondi
tion
tobeaddressedbeforethecommencementoft hetri
ali
tself
.’

‘
Thequesti
onofjuri
sdict
ionisver
yfundamentalt
hati
tshoul
dbedeter
mi nedfi
rstbytheCour
ts
bef
orestar
ti
nganyproceedings.I
ftheCourtpr
oceedswit
houtj
uri
sdi
cti
on,all
proceedings
howeverwell
conductedamounttoanulli
ty…”

Iti
selementar
yt hatonl
ynat
ural
personsandar
ti
fi
cial
per
sonshav
ingj
uri
sti
cper
sonal
i
tyar
e
competenttosueandbesuedbef or
eanylawCourt
.ENWELUv.GIUMEXINVESTMENTLTD
(2017)LPELR-42777.

Gener
all
y,noacti
onorSui
tcanbebroughtbyoragainstanypar
tyot
hert
hananatur
alper
sonor
per
sonsunlesssuchapar
tyhasbeengivenbystat
ute,expr
essl
yori
mpli
cit
lyorbyt
hecommon
l
aw,ei
ther:

1.Al
egalpersonalit
yunderthenamebywhi chi
tsuesorissued,suchascorpor
ati
onsoleand
aggr
egatethatincludesaCatholi
cBishoporAr
chbishop,
bodiesincor
por
atedbyforei
gnlaw
and“quasi
-corporati
ons”const
it
utedbyActofParl
i
ament ;or

2.Ar
ightt
osueorbesuedbyt hatnamewhi chmayi ncl
udepar
tnershi
ps,
tradeuni
ons,
fri
endl
y
soci
eti
esandf or
eigni
nst
it
uti
onsauthor
izedbyt hei
rownlawtosueandbesuedbutnot
i
ncorpor
ated.FAWEHINMIV.N.B.A.(NO.2)(1989)2NWLR( PT.105)558.

3.
Minor:
Thei
nfant
/mi
norcanbesuedf
ort
heactcommi
tt
edbyt
hem asanadul
t.Thusami
nor
canbesuedf orassault,f
alseimpri
sonment,
li
bel,sl
ander,
fraudetc.butwhereintent
ion,
knowledgeorsomeot hercondit
ionofmi
ndar eessent
iali
ngredi
entsofliabi
li
tytheni
nt hat
casesmi nor
/infantcanbeexempt edduetotheirmental
incapaci
ty.Inthelat
ercasea
minor/i
nfantcannotbesued.

4.
nat
ural
per
son(
humanbei
ng)

POI
NTTONOTE

Therightsorcapacit
yoffi
rmstosueorbesuedinit
snamewi t
houtaddinganyofsuch
quali
fi
ersthati
nclude“t
radi
ngundert
henameandst yl
eof…”hassuf
feredscat
hingargument
s
befor
et heCourts,t
othedetr
iment
softheor
dinar
ybusinessmanandpr of
essi
onal
s.

TheSupremeCour tJust
ices,
inATAGUBA&COMPANYV.GURANI GERIALIMITED,
S.C.
295/2000;(
2005)LPELR-584,fav
ourabl
yresol
vedt
hataf
ir
m canbesuedorsueini
tsown
undercert
ainCour
tRulesinNigeri
a.

I
nATAGUBA&COMPANYV.GURANI GERIALIMITED(supr
a),t
hequestionwaswhetheran
acti
oncouldbemaintainedagainstthef
ir
mi nit
sownname, thefi
rm notbei
ngaperson
recogni
zedunderanylaws,thatis,
anarti
fi
cial
personi
nlaw.

TheSupremeCourtconsi
deredOrder11Rul
es9and26oftheKadunaStateHighCourt(
Civi
l
Procedur
e)Rul
es,
1987, i
nholdi
ngthatAt
aguba&Companythoughnotajuri
sti
cpersoncansue
orbesuedinit
sownname.

JOI
NDEROFPARTI
ES

Thequest ionofj oinderofpar ti

esmayar iseei t
herasr egardstheplai
nt i
ffsorasr egardsthe
defendant s.AnActmaybedonebyasi nglei ndi
vidualandmayadv erselyaffectanother
i
ndividual.Inthatcase, thequest i
onofj oinderofpar ti
esdoesnotar i
seatal l.Thequestionof
j
oinderofpar ti
esar i
sesonl ywhenanActi sdonebyt woormor epersonsori taff
ectstot woor
mor epersons.Al lpersonsmaybej oi
nedi nonesui taspl ai
nti
ff
saccor dingt heconditi
ons
requir
edunderr ule1ofor der1.Thecondi t
ionswhi char erequi
redtobef ulf
ill
edarethatthe
ri
ghtt oreliefal
legedt oexistineachpl aintiffari
sesoutoft hesameactoft ransacti
on;andt he
casei ssuchofachar acterthat,
ifsuchper sonbr oughtseparatesuit
s, anycommonquest ionof
l
aworf actwoul dar i
se.Ont heotherhand, aper soncanbej oi
nedasadef endantaccordingt o
thepr ov
isi
onsofr ul
e3oforder1.Thecondit
ionst oberequiredtobesati
sfi
edinthecaseof
defendantaret hattheri
ghtt
oreli
efal
legedtoexi stagai
nstthem ari
sesoutofthesameactof
transacti
on;andt hecaseisofsuchacharacterthat,i
fseparatesui
tswerebroughtagai
nst
suchper son,anycommonquest i
onoflaworf actwouldarise.

I
nBenar esBankLtd.V.bhagwandas,thef
ullbenchoftheHighCourtofAll
ahbadlai
ddown
twotestsfordet
ermini
ngthequest
ionswhetherapart
icul
arpart
yisnecessarypar
tytot
he
proceedi
ngs:

*Theremustber
ightt
osomerel
i
efagai
nstsuchpar
tyi
nrespectoft
hemat
teri
nvol
vedi
nthe
proceedi
ngsi
nquesti
on;
and

*
Itshoul
dnotbepossi
blet
opassanef
fect
ivedecr
eei
ntheabsenceofsuchapar
ty.

Theabov
et est
swer
edescr
ibedast
ruet
est
sbySupr
emeCour
tinDeput
yCommr
.,Har
doi
V.
RamaKrishna.

Rule9oforder1laysdownt hatnosuitshal
lbedefeat
edbyr easonofmisj
oinderornon-
joi
nder
ofpart
ies.I
nsuchcases,thecourtmaydeal wi
ththemat t
erincontr
over
syasr egar
dstheri
ghts
andint
erestsoft
heparti
esact ual
lybefor
eit
.Howev er
,thi
sruledoesnotapplytocaseswhere
ther
eisanon-joi
nderofnecessaryparty.

I
ft woormor epersonsar ejoinedaspl ai
ntif
fsordef endant
si nonesuiti
ncont r
aventi
onof
order1,Rules1and3r espectivel
yandt heyareneithernecessarynorproperparti
es,i
tisacase
ofmisjoi
nderofparties.Ont heotherhand, whereaper son,whoi snecessaryorproperpart
yto
asuithasnotbeenj oinedasapar tytothesuit,i
tisacaseofnon- joi
nder.Thegeneralrul
eis
thatasuitcannotbedi smissedonl yont hegroundofnon- j
oinderormisjoi
nderofparti
es.

Therewoul dbemi sjoi

nderofpar
tiesifpersonhav ingaseparatecauseofact i
onf i
leasuit
j
ointl
y.Itwouldnotbei nacasewher eapl ainti
fffi
l
esasuitagai nstmor ethanoneper sonanda
commonquest ionoflaworfactwouldar i
sei fseparat
esuitswer efiled.Wher ei nasuitt
here
aretwoormor edefendantsandtwoormor ecauseofact i
on, thesui twi l
lbebadf ormisj
oinder
ofofdef endant
sandcauseofact ion,ifdi
fferentcauseofactionar ej oinedagainstdi
ffer
ent
defendantsseparately
.Suchami sjoi
nderist echni
call
ycal
ledmul t
ifariousness.
Asr egar dst henon- joinderofpar t
ies, adistinct
ionhasbeendr awnbet weent henon- j
oinderwho
oughtt ohav ebeenj oinedasapar tyandt henon- joinderofaper sonwhosej oinderisonl ya
mat terofconv eni enceorexpedi ency .Thecour tinv ariouscaseshel dt hati fthedecr eecannot
beef fectivewi thoutt heabsentpar t
ies, t
hesui tisliabl etobedi smi ssed.I napar t
icularcase,
wher eoneoft hemor tgageesi nstitutedt hesuitont hemor tgagee, itwashel dt hatthisruledid
notcur et hedef ect, ast hemat t
erwasnotamat terofpr ocedur e.Thus, sui twashel dt obenot
mai ntainabl eont hegr oundt hatanef f
ect i
vedecr eegi vi
ngdi schar get othemor tgagor scould
notbepassedbyr easonoft henon- j
oinderofsomeoft hemor tgagees.I ncaseswher ethe
j
oinderofaper sonasapar tyisonl yamat t
erofconv eniencet heabsentpar tymaybeaddedor
thesui tmaybet r
iedwi thouthi m.Thescopeoft hisr ulewasel abor at elydiscussedbyAl l
ahbad
HighCour ti nMaqsoodAl iv.ZahidAl ithatexceptwher et her ei sal egal bart othe
mai ntainabi l
it
yofasui tbyr eason,non- joinderofapar ty
, orwher ei nhi sabsence, thedecr ee
thatmaybepassedmi ghtbecomei nfructuousori nexecut able, thecour tcannotdi smi ssasuit
fornon- joinderofaper son.Whent hequest i
oni ssucht hatitcanbedeci dedbet weent he
partiest ot hesui t
, thecour tcannotdecl i
net odosobecauset het hir dpar t
iesmi ghtbe
i
nter estedt hereon.Thepl eaofnon- j
oindermustber aisedatt heear liestoppor t
unityandi fthe
objectionast onon- joinderasi snotr aisedatanear lystage, itisdeemedt ohav ebeenwai ved.

Section99oft heCodeofCi vil

Pr ocedureprovidesthatnodecr eeshallbereversedor
subst anti
all
yvali
d,norshallanycaseber emanded, i
nappeal onaccountofanymi sj
oinderor
non-joinderofpartiesorcausesofact ionoranyer ror,defectorirr
egulari
tyinanypr oceedi
ngs
i
nt hesui t,
notaffectingt
hemer i
tsofthecaseort hejurisdi
cti
onoft hecour tand,howev er
,
nothingi nthi
ssect i
onshallapplytonon- j
oinderofanecessar yparty
.Wher ear eli
efissought
againstapar tywithoutimpleadinghim asapar t
y,thesui twouldbeliabletobedi smissed.

Incaseofnon-joinderofparti
es,Rul
e9pr ovi
desagai nstt
hedismissalofsuit
.Theonlycourse
opent othecourtundersuchcircumstancesisformal l
ytocal
luponthepl ai
nti
fftomakehis
elect
ionandconf inethesuitt
oonesetofdef endants.Incaseofnon-j
oinderofthenecessary
party
, anoppor
tuni t
yshouldbegiventotheplaint
if
ftoaddt henecessaryparty
.

Asui ti
snottobedi smissedonlyont hegr
oundofnon- j
oinderormi sjoi
nderofpart
ies.The
Courtmayal l
owt henecessaryparti
estobejoined, i
natal aterstage.TheCourtmayi never
y
suitdealwit
ht hematterincontr
oversysofarasr egardsther i
ghtsandi nter
est
soft hepar
ti
es
actuall
ybeforeit
.Incaseofmi sj
oinderornon-
joinderofpar t
ies,Rule9pr ovi
desagainstt
he
dismissalofthesuit
.

MI
SJOI
NDEROFPARTI
ESANDI
TSEFFECT
Thejoinderofanypersonasapart
ytoasuitcontr
arytot
heprovisi
onsofthecodeiscal
l
ed
misj
oinder.Misj
oindermaybemisj
oinderofpl
aint
if
fs;
misj
oinderofdef
endantsandmisj
oinder
ofcauseofact i
ons.

Mi
sjoi
nderofPl
aint
if
fs

Wheretwoormor epersonsmayhav ebeenj oinedasplai

nti
ffsinonesuitbuttheri
ghttoreli
ef
al
legedall
egedtoexi
stineachplai
ntif
fdoesnotar i
seoutofthesameactort r
ansact
ion(or
seri
esofactsortr
ansacti
on)andifseparatesuitswerebroughtbyeachplainti
ffnocommon
questi
onoffactorl
awwoul dhavebeenar isen,ther
eismisjoi
nderofpl
ainti
ffs.Theobjecti
on
onthegroundofmisjoi
nderoftheplai
ntif
fs,shouldbetakenattheearl
iestpossibl
eopportuni
ty;
i
fnot,i
tisbedeemedt ohavebeenwai ved.

Mi
sjoi
nderofdef
endent
s

Likewise,wheretwoormor eper sonshavebeenjoi

nedasdefendantsinonesuitbuttherightto
reli
efallegedt
oexistagainsteachdefendantdoesnotari
seoutofthesameactort ransaction
(orseriesofactsortr
ansactions)andifsepar
atesui
tswerebroughtagainsteachdefendant,no
commonquest ionoffactorlawwoul dhaveari
sen,t
hereismisj
oinderofdefendant
s.

Mi
sjoi
nderofcauseofact
ion

Misjoi
nderofcausesofacti
onmaybecoupledwit
ht hemisj
oinderofplaint
if
fsormisj
oinderof
defendant
s.Thus,thesubj
ectmaybeconsi
deredundert
hefollowingthreeheads-

Mi
sjoi
nderofpl
aint
if
fsandcauseofact
ion

wher ei
nasui tther
earet woormor eplai
ntif
fsandt woormor ecausesofact
ion,
thepl aint
if
fs
shouldbejointlyi
nter
estedinal
lthecausesofact ion.I
fthepl
ainti
ff
sarenotj
oint
lyinterestin
al
lthecauseofact ion,t
hecaseisoneofmi sjoinderofplai
nty
iff
sandcauseofaction.The
objecti
onont hegroundofmi sj
oinderofplai
nt i
ffsandcausesofact i
onshoul
dbet akenatt he
earli
estopportuni
ty.

Mi
sjoi
nderofdef
endantandcausesofact
ion:Mul
ti
far
iousness

Wherei
nasuit
, t
her
earetwoormor edef
endant
sandtwoormor ecauseofacti
on,thesui
twi
l
l
bebadformi
sjoi
nderofdef
endant
sandcausesofact
ion,
ifdi
ff
erentcausesofact
ionare
j
oinedagainstdif
ferentdef
endant
ssepar
atel
y.Suchamisjoi
nderistechni
cal
l
ycalled
multif
ari
ousness.Theobjecti
ononthegr
oundofmulti
far
iousnessshouldbetakenatthe
earl
iestoppor
tunit
y.

I
nasui tforr
ecov
eryofloanadvancedonanoverdr
aftaccount,
thejoi
nderofaclai
m agai
nst
theagentonthegroundthathehadactedi
nexcessofhisauthori
tyandagai
nstthemanaging
dir
ectoronthegr
oundthathehadapprovedofi
twouldr endert
heactionmult
if
ari
ous.

NON-
JOI
NDEROFTHEPARTI
ESANDI
TSEFFECT

Whenaper sonwhoi sanecessarypar t

ytoasui thasnotbejoinedasapar t
ytothesuit
,iti
sa
caseofnon-j
oinder
.Asr egardst
henon- j
oinderofpart
ies,adi
stinct
ionhasbeendrawnbet ween
thenon-
joi
nderwhooughtt ohavebeenjoinedasapar tyandthenon-joi
nderofapersonwhose
j
oinderi
sonlyamat terofconvenienceorexpediency.

Asuitisnottobedismi
ssedonl
yonthegroundofnon-joinderofpar
ties.Thecour tmayal
low
necessarypar
ti
estobejoi
ned,i
natalat
erstage.Thecour tmayineverysuitdealwitht
he
matterincont
rover
sysofarasr
egar
dstherightsandi
nt erest
softhepar t
iesactuall
ybef
oreit
.

Accordingt otheprovisooftheRule9ofOr der1not hinginthesaidrul

eappliestonon-joi
nder
ofanecessar yparty.Anecessar ypar
tyisthatinwhoseabsencet hecourtcannotpassan
eff
ectivedecree.Ifthedecreecannotbeef fect
ivewithouttheabsentpart
y ,t
hesuitisli
ableto
bedismi ssed.Howev er,wheret
hej oi
nderofaper soni sonlyamat t
erofconvenienceandhe
hasnotbej oi
nedasapar t
y ,
hemaybeaddedatanyst ageorthesuitmaybet ri
edwithout
i
mpl eadinghim.Theal l
owingofthesuitdependsonwhet herapartywhohasnotbeenj oinedi
s
anecessar ypartyormer el
yapr operpart
y.Ifanecessar ypart
yisnotjoi
ned, t
hen,thesuitis
l
iabl
et obedi smissed.

Section99oft heCodeofCi vil

Pr ocedureprovidesthatnodecr eeshallbereversedor
subst anti
all
yvali
d,norshallanycaseber emanded, i
nappeal onaccountofanymi sj
oinderor
non-joinderofpartiesorcausesofact ionoranyer ror,defectorirr
egulari
tyinanypr oceedi
ngs
i
nt hesui t,
notaffectingt
hemer i
tsofthecaseort hejurisdi
cti
onoft hecour tand,howev er
,
nothingi nthi
ssect i
onshallapplytonon- j
oinderofanecessar yparty
.Wher ear eli
efissought
againstapar tywithoutimpleadinghim asapar t
y,thesui twouldbeliabletobedi smissed.

OBJECTI
ONSASTOMI
SJOI
NDERANDNON-
JOI
NDEROFPARTI
ES

Al
lobj
ect
ionsont
hegr
oundofnon-
joi
nderormi
sjoi
nderofpar
ti
esmustbet
akenatt
heear
li
est
opportuni
ty,
otherwi
setheywill
bedeemedt ohavebeenwai v
ed.But,
ift
heobject
ionsastonon-
j
oinderofnecessarypart
yhasbeent akenbyt
hedefendantattheear
li
estst
ageandt heplai
nti
ff
decl
inestoaddt henecessar
yparty,
hecannotsubsequent
lybeall
owedinappealtorect
if
ythe
err
orbyapplyingtheamendment .

AsperRule13ofOr der1oftheCodeofCi vi
lProcedure,
allobjectionsonthegroundofnon-
j
oinderormis-j
oinderofpart
iesshal
lbet akenatt heearl
iestpossibleopportuni
tyand,i
nall
caseswhereissuesar eset
tl
ed,atorbefor esuchsettl
ement ,unlessthegroundofobjecti
onhas
subsequent
lyari
sen, andanysuchobjectionnotsot akenshallbedeemedt ohav ebeenwaiv
ed.

TheSupr emeCour tinvariouscaseshel dthatanobj ecti

ontonon-j
oi nderandmi sj
oinderof
necessarypart
yshoul dbet akenatt heearl
iestoppor t
unit
ybeforetheset t
lementofi ssues.An
objecti
onastonon- i
mpl eadmentofapar t
y ,i
nawr i
tpeti
tionhastobet akenatthest ageof
secondappeal.TheAndhr aPr adeshHighCour theldthatanissueofnon- j
oinderofanecessar y
partycanberaisedinappel leatecourt
.Anobject i
onast onon-i
mpleadmentofapar ty,inawr it
petit
ionhastobet akenatt hest ageofcounter-aff
idavi
tandnotatt hebelatedstageofhear ing.

Anissueofnon-
joi
nderofanecessarypart
ycanberai
sedinappel
l
atecourt.Anobject
ionast
o
non-
impleadmentofanecessarypar
ty,whi
chwasnottakeni
nthefi
rstappealcannotbe
al
lowedtobetakenatthestageofsecondappeal
.

Objecti
onastomi sj
oinder,
whennotr ai
sedi ncourtoffi
rstinstanceisnogr oundf orreversinga
decreewhentheydonotaf fectthemerit
soft hecase.Thepl eacannotber aisedfort hefi
r st
ti
mei nthesecondappeal.Whenobj ect
iontowantofpar ti
esi snotraisedbyt hedef endant ,
it
mustbedeemedt ohavebeenwai ved.But,courtcanaddoneasapar tyi
fitthinksitnecessar y.
Wher eanecessar
ypar t
yisnoti mpl
eaded, t
heobjecti
onev enifnottakenint hetri
al court
,
cannotbesaidtobewai ved.Itcanberaisedeveninrevi
sion.

Thewor ds‘unl
essthegroundobjecti
onhassubsequent l
yar i
sen’allowstoobjectevenaftert
he
sett
lementofi ssues.Inapart
iti
onsuit,allcoparcener
smustbej oinedaspar t
ies, ev
enthough
someoft hem maybebor nafterthei
nst i
tuti
onoft hesui
t.Inthesameway ,awomanwhoi sa
part
yt oasui ti
smar ri
edaft
erthesettlementofi ssuesandthenat ur eoft
hesuitissuchthatthe
husbandi sanecessar ypar
ty,t
heplaintif
fshouldmaket hehusbandapar tyandt hedef
endant
mayr aisethisobject
ionseventhoughi tbeafterthesett
lementofi ssues.
 Commencementofact
ion

Anypersoninlawcancommenceci v i
lact
ion.Aper soninlawi sei
theranatural
person(human
bei
ng)oranar t
if
ici
alperson(
aregi
steredbody).Anunr egi
steredbodylacksthecapacit
ytosue
ort
obesued.Butoneoft hebenef
it
ingofregister
ingaBusi nessisthatthebusi
nessbecomesa
l
egalenti
tycapableofsuingandbei
ngsued.

FACTORSTOCONSI
DERBEFORECOMMENCI
NGANACTI
ON.

Bef
oref
il
inganact
ion,
iti
simpor
tantt
oconsi
der
:

a.Thenat
ureoft
hesui
t(
subj
ectmat
terast
oknowt
heappr
opr
iat
ecour
ttof
il
ethesui
t.

b.Theti
methecauseoft
heacti
onar
ose.
Knowingwhatcauseofact
ioni
sandwheni
tar
ose
wil
lhel
pyoutoknowwhethert
heact
ioni
sst
atutebar
red.

c.Ther
ightper
sonst
obesued.Par
ti
esinasuitar
evi
tal
,andsui
ngt
hewr
ongper
sonor
i
ncompetentper
sonwil
lbef
atal
toyourcase.

d.Thepossi
bil
i
tyofset
tl
ingthematt
eroutsi
decourtusi
nganyoft
heal
ter
nati
vedisput
e
resol
uti
onmechani
sms( ADR).ADRwil
lcert
ainl
ysaveyoumuchti
meandresour
ces.

e.TheRul
esofcour
t.Ev
eryCour
thasitsRul
e.TheRulesofcour
tpr
escr
ibet
hemodeofdoi
ng
thi
ngsandhowthecour
tsyst
em oper
atesgener
all
y.

f.Whetheryouhaveful
fi
ll
edt hecondit
ionprecedentnecessar
yforcourtt
oassumej ur
isdi
cti
on
overyourcase.Condi
ti
onprecedenther eref
ertopre-
actionnoti
ce.Wherethelawpr
ovidefor
pre-
acti
onnoticetobegivenbefore,
instit
uti
nganaction,youmustcomplywi t
hsuchprovi
sions
befor
einsti
tuti
ngacivi
lsuit
.

g.Theissueofl
ocusStandi.Doy oureal
lyhav
ear i
ghtt
hatneedtobepr
otect
ed?Thelawhas
noplacefor“
busybodi
es”.Foryout osue,y
ou.youmusthav
ear i
ghtt
hathasbeent
hreat
hened,
underthr
eatorl
ikel
ytobet hr
eathened.

WHENI
SACTI
ONSAI
DTOHAVEBEENCOMMENCED?

Anactionissai
dtohavebeencommencedwhenanori
ginat
ingprocesshasbeenf
il
edincourt
,
appropri
atef
eespai
d,sui
tnumbergi
ventot
hecaseandtheprocessesservedont
headverse
part
y.
WHYMODEOFCOMMENCEMENTOFCI
VILACTI
ONI
SIMPORTANT

Wher east atut

epr escr
ibedapar
ti
cul
armannerormethodofdoinganactorexerci
singof
authorit
y,noot hermethodwil
lbeall
owedassubst
it
uteanditismatt
eroutsi
dethedi scr
etionof
court.Seet hecaseofUni t
yBankPLCvIgal
aConstr.
CoLtd(2021)10NWLR( PT.1785)P. 415

Howt
oCommenceaCi
vi
lAct
ioni
nCour
t.

a.Wr
itofSummon.

b.Or
igi
nat
ingsummons

c.Or
igi
nat
ingMot
ion.

d.Pet
it
ion

WRI
TOFSUMMONS

Thi
sisthemostprev
alentmodeofi
nst
it
uti
nganact
ioninHi
ghCour
tsi
nNiger
ia.Thi
smodeof
commencementisusedwherethef
act
sarecont
ent
iousorl
i
kel
ygoi
ngtobecontent
ious.
The
mostcommonestexampleisl
andmatt
ers.

I
nt heer
aoffr
ontl
oadi
ng,acopyoft
hewri
tsi
gnedbythel
awyeri
ssui
ngi
t,t
oget
herwit
h
accompany
ingdocument
sisfil
edi
ncour
ttocommenceanacti
onusi
ngthi
smode.The
accompany
ingdocument
sincl
udes:

a.St
atementofCl
aim

b.Wi
tnessSt
atementonOat
h

c.Li
stofExhi
bit
s

d.Li
stofWi
tnessest
obecal
l
eddur
ingt
ri
al.

e.Copi
esofdocument
stober
eli
edondur
ingt
ri
al.

ORI
GINATI
NGSUMMONS.

Thi
smodeofcommencementofact
ion.i
susedwher
ethef
act
sar
enoti
ndi
sput
e.

Asnot
edbyLegal
choi
ces,
iti
susedf
ornon-
cont
ent
iousmat
ter
s,maj
orl
yfort
hei
nter
pret
ati
on
ofdocuments,
laws,
inst
ruments,wi
ll
,deedsorcont
ract
s,l
anguagesandsignset
c,whenevert
he
ri
ghtsandli
abi
li
ti
esofpart
ieswil
lbedeter
mineduponthei
nterpr
etat
ionofsame.
Seet hecase
ofDirect
orSSSvAgbakoba(1999)3NWLR.( PT.
595)425

I
nUnilagvAi
gor
o(1991)
,3NWLR( PT.
179)376,i
twashel
dthatori
ginat
ingsummonscanal
so
beusedwher
eerr
orsincour
tJudgementar
esoughtt
obecorrect
ed.

I
nacti
onsbroughtbywayofOr
igi
nati
ngsummons, onl
yaffi
davitofpar
ti
esar
enecessar
y.I
n
ot
herwords,
pleadi
ngsar
enotused(stat
ementofclai
m andit
’saccompanyi
ngpr
ocesses)
.

ORI
GINATI
NGMOTI
ON

Thismodeisusedforpr
oceedi
ngsinr
espectofprer
ogat
iveor
derandforenfor
cementof
fundament
alr
ight
sundertheFundament
alri
ghtEnfor
cementprocedur
eRules2009.

Theprer
ogat
iveorder
sforwhichmodeofcommencementofact
ioncanbeusedi
ncl
ude:
mandamus,cert
ior
ari
,habeuscor
puset
c.

I
nanactioncommencedbywayofOr
igi
nat
ingmot
ion,
theor
igi
nat
ingpr
ocessest
hatmay
accompanythepr
ocessesar
e:

a.TheOr
igi
nat
ingAppl
i
cat
ionormot
iononNot
ice.

b.St
atementoff
act
sset
ti
ngoutt
henameanddescr
ipt
ionofAppl
i
cant

c.
Ver
if
yingAf
fi
dav
it

d.
Wri
tt
enAddr
ess

e.Copiesofdocument
stober
eli
edupon.SeeOr
der2Rul
eoft
heFundament
alRi
ght
Enfor
cementprocedur
eRul
es2009

PETI
TION

Thi
sisal
sooneoft
hemodeofcommencementofact
ionsi
nHighCour
t.Pet
it
ioni
susedt
o
commenceact
ioni
ncour
twher
eastat
uteorr
ulepr
ovi
desfori
tasamodeofcommencement
.

Underthematr
imonial
CausesActandRules,proceedi
ngst
herei
nar
ecommencedbywayof
peti
ti
on.Al
so,wi
ndingupofcompaniesundertheCompaniesandAl
li
edMat
ter
sActar
ealso
donebyPeti
ti
on.

I
nthesameway
,El
ect
oral
mat
ter
sundert
heEl
ect
oral
Act
sar
ecommencedbyPet
it
ion.
 SERVI
CEOFTHESEPROCESSESAREI
MPORTANT

TheNi ger
ianlawsy stem r
ecogni
zestwomodeofservi
ceofprocessesnamely:Personal
servi
ceandsubst i
tutedservi
ce.Per
sonal
ser
vicer
equir
estheplai
ntif
f,t
hroughthebaili
ffof
courtgivi
ngtheprocessesdirect
lyt
otheper
sonbeingsued(
Defendant)whoreceiv
essameand
acknowledgesreceptofsame.

Anyothermodeofser
viceper
mi t
tedbyl
awothert
hanthisissubst
it
udserv
ice.Substi
tut
ed
ser
vicecoul
dbebywayofpastingthepr
ocessatt
helastknownaddressoftheDefendantor
anyotherpl
ace.

Now, aft
erfi
li
ngtheorigi
nati
ngprocesses,
thesai dprocessi
sservedontheDef endant(s)
thr
ought hebail
i
ffofcourtInt
hecaseofWr itofSummons, t
heDefendantisexpectedtoenter
appearancetothesuitwit
hin42days.TheDef endantenter
sappearancetothesuitbyfil
ing
memor andum ofappearance.

TheDef endanti
nenteri
ngappearancemayenteracondi
ti
onal
appearanceoranunconditi
onal
appearance.WheretheDefendantsi
ntendt
oraiseaprel
i
minar
yobjecti
on,suchaDefendantwi
ll
enteraconditi
onalappear
ance.

Inenter
ingappearance,t
heDefendantf
il
eshi
sStat
ementofDef enceandCounterClai
m where
necessary,
alongsi
detheWitnessStat
ementonOath,
Listofwit
nesses,Li
stofExhi
bitsand
copiesofdocument stober
eli
eduponandsameshallbeservedont hePl
aint
if
f,t
hroughthei
r
counsel.

Thepl
aint
if
fuponrecei
ptoftheaboveprocessesoftheDefendant
,shal
lwi
thin14day
s,fi
leand
ser
veontheDefendant,
thePlai
nti
ff
’sRepl
ytoStatementofDefenceandDefencet
oCount er
cl
aim,
additi
onalSt
atementonOath,andfurt
herdocumentstobereli
eduponwherenecessary.

BEWAREOFSTATUTEOFLI
MITATI
ON

Whereastat
uteprov
idesf
orper
iodwi
thi
nwhichanappl
icat
ionmustbebroughtbef
orethe
cour
t,anact
ioncommencedout
sidet
heper
iodissai
dtobestat
utebar
red.Seethecaseof
UmeanovAnaekwe( 2022)6NWLRPT. 1827.P.520. Todeterminewhet heranact
ionisstatute
bar
red,ref
erenceismadet owhent hecauseofact ionarose.Thecauseofact i
onconfirmst he
exi
stenceofalegalri
ghtthatisei
thervi
olat
edalready ,bei
ngv i
olatedorabouttobev i
olat
ed.
Part
iesmustbeconsci oustoprot
ectthei
rright
sf orequityaidsthev i
gil
antandnottheindolent
andonlyanindolentl
it
igantcanbecaughtupbyst atueofli
mi t
ations.

Int
hecaseofUmeanovAnaekwesupr a,
thesupr
emecour theldthattheeffectofast
atut
e
l
imiti
ngtheper i
odwit
hinwhichanact i
oncanbepresentedtocour ti
sthatfail
uretopr
esentt
he
act
iontheactionwit
hintheprescri
bedperiodr
enderl
sthesuitincompet entandrobscour
tof
j
uri
sdict
ion.SeealsoHasanvAl iy
u(2010)17NWLR.( PT.1223)547.

ANORI
GINATI
NGPROCESSMUSTBESI
GNED.

Thegener
alposi
ti
onoflawi
sthatanunsigneddocumentiswor
thl
essandhasnolegal
val
ue.I
n
thesameway,anunsi
gnedor
igi
nati
ngprocesshasnovalueandCour
tcannotusei
t.

AnunsignedwritofSummons(l i
kewiseev
eryotherori
ginati
ngprocesses)isvoidanditcannot
becuredevenbysubsequentamendedwr i
t.Suchaner r
orisafundament aldef
ect,i
trender
s
theori
ginat
ingprocessincompet
ent
,anddepriv
esthecour tofj
uri
sdict
ion.Seethecaseof
MainasaravF.B.NPlc.(
2022)6NWLR( PT.1827)P.475.

I
nthecasesupr
a,t
hecour
taf
fi
rmedt
heconsequenceofanunsi
gnedwr
itt
hus:

“t
her esul
tofavoi
dwritofsummonsi sthatt
hecaseithasact
edasaninit
iat
ing/or
igi
nat
ing
processremainsi
ncompetentanddepri
vesthecour
tofthejur
isdi
cti
ont
oentertai
nsame”.

WHOCANSI
GNANORI
GINATI
NGPROCESS?

Onlyalawyerenrol
l
edt opract
iceinNiger
iaortheli
ti
gantcansignanori
ginat
ingpr
ocesstobe
fi
l
ledincourtsi
nNigeria.SeeSolumadeVKut isupr
a.Afirm ofSol
i
cit
orsi
snotcompet entt
o
si
gnanor i
ginat
ingprocess.

I
nt hecaseofOfukaVIzabi
-Undie(
2022)3NWLR.PT.1818.,
P491–492, t
hecour
theldt
hat
onceanorigi
nat
ingpr
ocess,
isnotsignedbyal
i
tigantorhi
scounsel
,thepr
ocessi
sinv
ali
dand
thecourti
soust
edofjuri
sdi
ction.
Wher eanOr i
ginati
ngprocessi sincompetent,
thecourtisrobbedofjuri
sdi
cti
ontoentertai
nthe
suit
.Whatcoul dmakeanOr iginati
ngprocessincompetentdependsont heci
rcumstancesof
thecase.For i
nstance,notsigningtheori
ginat
ingprocessbyt hecounselt
hatprepar
editorby
theli
tigant
,renderstheprocessi ncompetent
.

Speci
alpr
oceedi
ngs

Speci
alpr
oceedi
ng:Aspecial
pr oceedi
ngi
sar
emedybywhi
chapar
tyseekst
oest
abl
i
sha
st
atus,ar
ight
,orapar
ti
cularfact.

2.Pr
obat
e:Pr
obat
eisaspeci
alpr
oceedi
ngt
oest
abl
i
sht
hev
ali
dit
yofawi
l
l.Nowi
l
lpasses
propert
yunlessiti
sprobatedbyacourt
.Probateismandator
y.I
tisinrem.Hence,
thecourtis
al
socal l
edaprobatecourt
.Butaprobatecourtal
soincl
udesacourtthatpr
esi
desoverprobate
proceedi
ngswhi chcangeneral
l
yref
ertothesettl
ementoftheest
ateofadeceasedpersonwi t
h
orwithoutawill
.

3.Repr
obat
e:Repr
obat
eisaspeci
alpr
oceedi
ngt
oest
abl
i
sht
hev
ali
dit
yofawi
l
lpr
ovedi
na
f
orei
gncount
ry.

4.Legacy
:Al
egacyi
sabequestofper
sonal
proper
tyi
nawi
l
ltoaper
soncal
l
edt
hel
egat
ee.

5.Dev
ise:Adevi
sei
sabequestofr
eal
proper
tyi
nawi
l
ltoaper
soncal
l
edt
hedev
isee.

6.Test
ateEst
ate:
Test
ateest
ater
efer
stoanest
ateofadeceasedper
sonwhi
chi
sset
tl
edor
t
obeset
tl
edwi
tht
hel
astwi
l
landt
est
amentoft
hatdeceasedper
soncal
l
edt
het
est
ator
.

7.I
ntest
ateEst
ate:I
ntest
ateest
ater
efer
stot
heest
ateofadeceasedper
sonwi
thoutawi
l
l.
Theest
atei
sset
tl
edbyt
hel
awsofi
ntest
acypr
ovi
dedi
ntheCi
vi
lCode.

8.Execut
or:Anexecut
ori
stheper
sonnamedi
nthewi
l
lwhoi
sent
rust
edt
oimpl
ementi
ts
pr
ovi
sions.Butt
heexecutorneedstobeissuedl
ett
erstest
ament
aryaf
tert
hecour
tdet
ermi
nes
hi
sorherquali
fi
cat
ions.Afemaleexecut
oriscal
ledexecut
ri
x.

9.Admi
nist
rat
or:Anadmi
nist
rat
ori
stheper
sonent
rust
edwi
tht
hecar
e,cust
odyand
managementoftheest
ateofadeceasedper
sonunti
ltheestat
eispart
it
ionedanddist
ri
but
edt
o
t
heheir
s,l
egateesanddevi
sees,
ifany.Af
emaleadminist
rat
oriscal
l
edadmi ni
str
atr
ix.

*Thecourti
ssueslet
tersofadmi
nist
rat
iont
oaper
sonaf
tershe/
hequal
i
fiesi
nthesound
discr
eti
onofthecourt.

*
Iti
spossibl
ethatawil
lcanbeprobat
edwithoutatestatororwi
thatest
atorwhoisdi
squal
i
fied
t
oenteruponthetr
ust
.Hence,t
hecourtcanissuel
ettersofadmini
str
ati
onwitht
hewil
l
annexed.

Pr
ocedur
eforCont
ent
iousgr
ant
s(sol
emnf
orm)

Anappl
i
cat
ionf
orpr
obat
eiscont
ent
iouswhen:

a)
Thev
ali
dit
yoft
heWi
l
liscont
est
ed

b)
Theappoi
ntmentofanexecut
ori
schal
l
enged

c)
Probat
eissoughtt
ober
evokedordeni
ed

Thepr
ocedur
eisasf
oll
ows:

-
Discov
ery
,mar
kingandr
eadi
ngoft
heWi
l
l

-
Appl
i
cat
ionf
orpr
obat
ebyexecut
ors

-
Publ
i
cat
ionoft
heappl
i
cat
ionf
orgr
antofpr
obat
e

-
Cav
eat

-
Cit
ati
on/
war
ning

-
Appear
ancet
oci
tat
ion/
war
ning

-
Probat
eact
ion(
ful
ltr
ial
)

-
Grantorr
efusal
ofgr
antdependi
ngont
heout
comeoft
hepr
obat
eact
ion

All
theot herdet
ail
sar
ebasi
cal
l
ythesamewi
tht
hepr
ocedur
eincommonf
orm exceptf
orf
ew
addit
ions.

Thedocumentsneededtoobtai
nagr antofpr
obatei
nsol
emnf
orm(
cont
ent
ious)andwhi
chwi
l
l
accompanyt
heapplicat
ionf
orgrantofprobat
eare:

i
.Appl
i
cat
ionf
orgr
antofpr
obat
e(whet
herbyl
ett
er(
Lagos)orPet
it
ion(
Abuj
a))
.

i
i
.Acopyoft
heWi
l
l

i
i
i.
TheDeat
hcer
ti
fi
cat
eoft
het
est
ator

i
v.
Proofofi
denti
tyoftheappl
icant
(s)andproofofi
dent
it
yoft
het
est
atorsuchasdr
iver
s’
l
i
cence,nat
ional
I.D.
,i
nter
nati
onalpasspor
tetc.

v
.Af
fi
dav
itst
ati
ngt
hepl
aceanddat
eofdeat
hoft
het
est
atorandhi
spl
aceofdomi
cil
eshor
tl
y
bef
orehi
sdeat
h

v
i.
Decl
arat
ionofal
ltheper
sonal
proper
ti
esoft
het
est
ator

v
ii
.Af
fi
dav
itofdueexecut
ionandaf
fi
dav
itast
ohandwr
it
ing,
ifappl
i
cabl
e.

v
ii
i.
Bankcer
ti
fi
cat
e

i
x.Dul
ycompl
etedi
nvent
oryspeci
fi
cal
l
yli
sti
ngt
hepr
oper
ti
esoft
het
est
ator

x.
Passpor
tphot
ogr
aphsoft
heexecut
orsandat
test
ingWi
tnesses.

xi
.Cav
eatFor
m

xi
i
.Ci
tat
ion/
war
ningasi
nFor
m 5(
Lagos)orFor
m 190(
Abuj
a)

xi
i
i.
Not
iceofappear
anceasi
nFor
m 6(
Lagos)orFor
m 191(
Abuj
a)

xi
v.
Wri
tofsummons

I
tmustbenot
edthatwhereanappl
i
cati
onforgr
antofprobateisf
il
ed,t
heRegist
rarwait
sfor
t
hree(
3)months(
Lagos)orsi
x(6)months(
Abuja)f
orobject
ionsandcaveat
s,i
fany,t
obef i
l
ed

PROCEDUREFOROBTAI
NINGGRANTOFPROBATE

Theprocedur
efort
hegr
antofpr
obatedependsonwhet
hertheappl
i
cati
onf
orpr
obat
eis
cont
enti
ous(sol
emnfor
m)ornon-cont
ent
ious(commonfor
m)innatur
e

1.
Procedur
efornon-
cont
ent
iousgr
ant
s(commonf
orm)

Theprocedur
eisinthi
sor der
:discover
y,mar
kingandr
eadi
ngoft
heWi
l
l,appl
i
cat
ionf
orpr
obat
e,
proofoft
heWi l
landgrantofprobate.

i
.Discovery,
Mar ki
ngandReadi ngoftheWil
l:thesearchfort
hetestator’
sWillbegi
nsaftert
he
burial
ceremoni esareover.Usuallyt
heori
ginalcopyoftheWi l
li
skeptatt heprobat
eregist
ry.I
f
theWi l
lisi
nt hepossession/custodyoft
het est
atororanyotherperson,heistosendittothe
probateregistr
ywithi
nthree( 3)monthsofhisknowledgeofthetestator’
sdeath.

I
ftheWi l
li
sfoundattheprobateregist
ry,
itwi
llbereadatadesignatedti
meordayasmaybe
deter
minedbytheProbat
eRegi st
rar.TheWill
mustber eadintheProbateRegi
str
yoranypl
ace
theProbat
eRegist
rardet
erminesandheshal lbethesuperv
isi
ngof f
icer
.

WheretheWill
cannotbefoundandther
eisreasonablegroundstobel
ievethataper
sonhas
knowl
edgeofanytestamentar
ydocumentofthetestator
,theCourtmaysummar i
lyor
dert
hat
suchapersonbeexaminedorint
err
ogatedi
nrespectofthedocumenti ncourt
.

Thepr
obat
eregi
stermaysummontheper
sonswhoarei
nterest
edintheestat
eofthedeceased
andwhent
heyappearonafi
xeddat
e,t
heRegi
str
art
henbringsoutt
heWi l
l,
breakstheseal
ed
waxonitandreadstheWil
li
nthepr
esenceoft
heper
sonspr
esentandmakesar
ecor
doft
he
pr
oceedi
ngsfortheday.

i
i.
Applicationf
orprobat
e:aft
ert hereadingoft heWill
,theexecutorswi
ll
makeanappl i
cati
onfor
probate.InLagos,
theappli
cationforgrantofpr obatei
sbywayofLETTER, whil
einAbuja,
the
appli
cationisbywayofPETITION.I neithercase,theappli
cati
oni smadetotheProbat
e
Regist
rar.TheCONTENTSoft heapplicati
onf orgrantofprobateareasfol
l
ows:

•
Par
ti
cul
arsoft
het
est
ator
:name,
mar
it
alst
atusbef
oredeat
h,namesofspouseandchi
l
dren

•
Dat
eandpl
aceofdeat
hoft
het
est
ator

•
Thatt
het
est
atorwasr
esi
dentwi
thi
njur
isdi
cti
onshor
tl
ybef
orehi
sdeat
h

•
Thatt
het
est
atorwasf
oundt
ohav
emadeaWi
l
l

•
Thatt
heappl
i
cant
sar
etheexecut
orsnamedi
ntheWi
l
l.

Thedocumentsneededtoobt
ainagr
antofpr
obat
eandwhi
chwi
l
laccompanyt
heappl
i
cat
ion
forgr
antofpr
obateare:

•
Appl
i
cat
ionf
orgr
antofpr
obat
e(whet
herbyl
ett
er(
Lagos)orPet
it
ion(
Abuj
a))
.

•
Acopyoft
heWi
l
l

•
TheDeat
hcer
ti
fi
cat
eoft
het
est
ator

•Pr
oofofidenti
tyoft
heappli
cant(
s)andpr
oofofi
dent
it
yoft
het
est
atorsuchasdr
iver
s’l
i
cence,
nat
ional
I.D.
,int
ernat
ional
passpor
tetc.

•Af
fi
davi
tst
ati
ngthepl
aceanddat
eofdeat
hoft
het
est
atorandhi
spl
aceofdomi
cil
eshor
tl
y
bef
orehi
sdeath

•
Decl
arat
ionofal
ltheper
sonal
proper
ti
esoft
het
est
ator

•
Aff
idav
itofdueexecut
ionandaf
fi
dav
itast
ohandwr
it
ing,
ifappl
i
cabl
e.

•
Bankcer
ti
fi
cat
e

•
Dul
ycompl
etedi
nvent
oryspeci
fi
cal
l
yli
sti
ngt
hepr
oper
ti
esoft
het
est
ator

•
Passpor
tphot
ogr
aphsoft
heexecut
orsandat
test
ingWi
tnesses.

I
tmustbenot edt hatanappli
cati
onforprobat
ewithWi l
lcannotbemadewi t
hinseven(7)day
s
(Abuja)andfourteen(14)days(Lagos)fr
om thedateofdeathofthetestator
.Howev er,
the
appli
cationforgrantofprobatemustbemadewi t
hint
hree(3)mont hs(Lagos)orsix(6)months
(Abuja)from t
hedayofdeat hofthedeceased.Ift
heyfailt
oapplyforprobatewithi
nthe
prescri
bedper i
od, t
heExecutorsmaybesubject
edt of
inesbythecourt.
Itmustbenot
edthatwhereanappl
icat
ionforgrantofpr
obatei
sfi
led,t
heRegist
rarmustwai
t
forcer
tai
nper
iodforobj
ecti
onsandcaveat
s,ifany,t
obef i
l
edbyanyinter
est
edpersonint
he
estat
e.

i
ii
.Provi
ngoftheWil
l:
theexecutori
sexpectedt
oprovetheWill
.Wher
ehefail
s,negl
ect
sor
delaysi
ndoingso,
anot i
ce(Ci
tati
on)canandshal
lbeservedonhi
m dir
ect
inghimtoprov
ethe
Willorr
enouncepr
obate.

Aci
tat
ionshal
lbeaccompaniedbyaver
if
yingaf f
idav
itv
eri
fyi
ngt
hefact
sst
atedint
heCit
ati
on.
I
tmustbenotedthataCi
tat
ioncanonl
ybei ssuedbyapersonwhohasani
nter
esti
ntheest
ate
oft
hetest
ator
.

Thepersonci
ted(executor
)mustenteranappear
ancetotheCi
tat
ionwi
thi
neight(
8)daysf
rom
thedat
eofservi
ceoft heci
tat
iononhim.Heistoentert
heappear
ancebycomplet
ingandf
il
ing
FORM 6(Lagos)orFORM 191( Abuj
a).

I
npr
ovi
ngt
heWi
l
l,i
tsdueexecut
ionmustbepr
oved,
eveni
fwi
tnesseshav
etobecal
l
ed.

i
v .
Grantofprobat
e:whentheprobat
eRegist
rari
ssati
sfi
edthattheWil
lwasdulyexecutedand
thatthetest
atormadetheWil
lwithknowl
edgeofit
scontents,
theregi
str
arwouldgrantthe
probate.

PLEADI
NGS.

Pleadi
ngsareWri
tt
enall
egati
onsofpar
ti
eswhichCompr
ehensi
vel
ypr
esent
sthemat
eri
alf
act
s
andhighl
ightt
hei
ssuesbetweenpar
ti
estoanacti
on.

Stri
ctsensu,
pleadi
ngsar
et hestatementofcl
aim,st
atementofdefence,
count
er-
clai
m,set
-of
f,
repl
y,andfur
therandbet
terpart
icular
sinanacti
onstart
edbywritofsummons.

Pleadi
ngsarenotusedinacti
onscommencedbyOr
igi
nat
ingSummons, Or
igi
nat
ingMot
ions
andpetit
ionsast
heAf f
idav
it/
pet
it
ionser
vest
hepur
poseofpleadi
ngs.

Awr
itofsummonsi
snotapl
eadi
ngunt
ilspeci
all
yendor
sedwi
thast
atementofcl
aim.

FUNCTI
ONSOFPLEADI
NGS.

–Pleadi
ngsdef
inet
hemat t
ersindi
spute:
towhichpar
tiesmustconfinet
heirar
gumentsand
ev
idenceto(
int
heproceedi
ngs)andareboundby-Mi
nisterofLandsvAzi
kiwe((1969)1Al
lNLR
490.

–Helpsprev
entspri
ngi
ngofsur
pri
sesandavoi
dsunnecessar
ywast
eoft
imeandconsequent
cost
sasbothpart
iesar
eprepar
ed.Aki
ntol
avSolano(
1986)2NWLR598.Geor
gevDomi ni
on
Fl
ourMil
lsLtd.

–showj
uri
sdi
cti
on,
subst
ant
ial
i
tyofi
ssuest
obet
ri
ed,
whobear
sthebur
denofpr
oofi
nacase.

–Showmatt
ersadmitt
ed,
recor
dswhi
chcanf
orm basi
sofest
oppel
andwher
ether
eisnoi
ssue
bet
weent
hepart
ies.

–Areper
manentpubl
i
crecordsofthecour
t’
sdecisiononquestionsrai
sedbet
weenpar
ti
es
(
andcanfor
mthebasisofr
esjudicat
ainsubsequentproceedi
ngs).

CONTENTANDFORMALREQUI
REMENTOFPLEADI
NGS:

–Headedint
heti
tl
eofthecour
tinwhi
cht
heact
ioni
sbr
oughtwi
thi
tsj
udi
cial
di
vi
sion/
magi
str
atedi
str
ict
.

–Sui
t/
plai
ntNumber
.

–Namesofpar
ti
esanddesi
gnat
ion.

–headi
ng(
stat
ementofcl
aim/
def
ence,
etc)

–I
tshoul
dbear
rangedi
npar
agr
aphsandnumber
edconsecut
ivel
y.

–VeryImport
ant:Pl
eadi
ngsshoul
dconci
sel
ycontai
nmat er
ialfact
s(posi
ti
vel
yal
l
eged)and
shoul
dnotcontai
nlaw,l
egal
argument
s,evi
denceorconcl
usion.

Al
thoughf
orei
gn,
Isl
ami
candcust
omar
ylawmaybepar
doned.El
seact
ionmaybedi
scar
ded

–Rel
i
efssought(
pray
ers)
.

–Dat
esandNumber
sar
etobewr
it
teni
nbot
hwor
dsandf
igur
es.

–Pl
eadi
ngshoul
dbedat
ed.

–Cont
ainaddr
essofCounsel
thatset
tl
esi
t.

–Addr
essf
orser
viceont
heot
herpar
ty.

–t
hepaperusedshoul
dbeofgoodanddur
abl
equal
i
ty.
FACTSTHATMUSTBESPECI
FICALLYPLEADED

Areinexhaust
ibl
e.Asar
uleanymatt
ert
hatcoul
dsur
pri
set
heot
herpar
tymustbepl
eaded
special
ly
.Commonexampl esar
e:

–Al
l
egat
ionofFr
aud,
Cri
meori
l
legal
i
ty-
Geor
gevDomi
nionFl
ourMi
l
ls.

–Wher
eAdul
ter
yisal
l
eged,
par
ti
cul
arsofadul
ter
yshoul
dbepl
eaded.

–Whereli
belal
l
eged,par
ti
cular
s(ti
me,pl
ace,
wor
dset
c)ofal
l
egedl
i
bel
-Br
ucevOl
dham Pr
ess
Lt
d(1939)1KB(697)
.Defencesther
eoft
oo.

–Cl
aimf
orspeci
aldamagesshoul
ddet
ail
thedamages.

–Equi
tabl
emaxi
msl
i
keEst
oppel
mustbespeci
all
ypl
eade.

–Def
encet
hatpur
chaserf
orv
aluewi
thoutnot
ice.

–Thatdocumenti
sunenf
orceabl
e

–Wr i
tt
enagreement
/document
smustbepl
eaded.MAndi
l
aandKar
aber
isLt
dvYesuf
uOt
oiki
ti
1963AllNNLR84.

–Defencesoft
imebar,wai
ver
,Laches,
Acqui
esance,
UndueI
nfl
uence,
resi
psal
oqui
tur
,et
c
Adebi
sivOke(1967)NMLR64.

–Forei
gn,
Isl
ami
candCust
omar
ylawi
fnoj
udi
cial
not
icehasbeent
akenoft
hecust
om.ANPP
vUsman

–Speci
alandexempl
arydamages:
Setof
f:For
fei
tur
e:Bonaf
idepur
chaserwi
thoutnot
ice,
Mor
tgages.Et
c.

–St
atut
oryi
mmuni
tyandexcept
ion.

–Factsseeki
ngt
obr
ingat
ransact
ionwi
thi
ntheambi
tofapar
ti
cul
arAct
-Yassi
nvBar
clay
s
Bank

–Cl
aimf
ordecl
arat
ionoft
it
let
olandbasedoni
nher
it
ancef
rom sev
eral
ancest
ors.

–Cl
aimf
orsetof
f,f
orf
eit
ure,

WAYSOFRESPONDI NGTOASTATEMENTOFCLAI M(I

NSTATEMENTOFDEFENCE)
:I.
E.
TRAVERSE,DENIAL,ADMI
SSI
ON,NEGATIVEPREGNANTTRAVERSE,
CONFESSI
ONAND
AVOIDANCE,SET-OFFANDCOUNTERCLAIM.
-TOTRAVERSEmeanstodenytheall
egati
oninthest
atementofcl
aimi
ntheabsenceofsame,
all
egat
ionsmaybedeemedadmit
ted.Trav
erseshoul
dnotbeevasi
veTr
aversecoul
dbe:

–General
:deni
ali
ngeneralt
er ms.“
SAVEOREXCEPTasher einexpresslyadmi
tted,t
he
def
endantdeni
eseachandev eryal
l
egationoff
actcontai
nedinthestatementofclai
m asi
f
sameweresetoutandtr
aversedseriat
im”.Mandi
lasandKaraberi
sLt dvLamidiApena(1969)
NMLR199.

Mater
ial
fact
smuststi
l
lbespeci
ficall
ydeni
ed(andnoti
nanevasi
vemannerbutini
tsenti
ret
y)
asgener
altr
aver
semaynotsuff
ice-Aki
ntol
avSolano(
1986)2NWLR598.ChiefUgochukwuv
CCB(1996)7SCNJ22.

–Speci
alTr
aver
s:i
sanaf
fi
rmat
ivedeni
al;

–Commont
rav
ersedeni
esmat
eri
alal
l
egat
ionsdi
rect
ly;

-
Negat
ivePr
egnantTr
aver
se.

–ADMISSI
ON:defendant
’saccept
anceofafactprevi
ousl
ydisput
edeit
herexpr
essl
yor
i
mpli
edl
ybynotdenyi
ng.Suchfactneedsnofur
therproof
-sc121and123EA.

–CONFESSI
ONANDAVOIDANCE:Thedef
endantconf
esses,
butr
aisesanewf
act
/def
encet
o
negat
ehi
sconf
essi
on.

–COUNTERCLAI M:thedefendant’
scl
aim agai
nsttheplai
nti
ff(
independentoftheplai
nti
ff
’s
cl
aim but
)inthesamepr oceedi
ngtowhichplai
nti
ffshouldfi
l
edefencetocount ercl
aim wi
thi
n
14days.Counter
-cl
aim cansti
ll
standnotwi
thst
andingstayordi
smi ssalofact
ion.

–SETOFF:isthedefendant
’smonet
arycross-
clai
mtoreducethepl
aint
if
f’
scl
aimf
ormoney
.
Set
–of
frev
olvesaroundplai
nti
ff
’scl
aim andendswit
htheacti
on.

FI
LINGANDSERVI
CEOFPLEADI
NGS.

I
nLagosandAbujastatementofclai
m shouldbefi
ledwit
hwr i
tofsummonsandot her
fr
ontl
oadeddocuments(i
.e.l
i
stofwitnesses,t
hei
rstat
ementsonoath,
copiesofdocumentst
o
bereli
edonandpre-
acti
onprotocolf
orm 01/Pre-
acti
oncounsell
i
ngcer
tif
icat
e)wit
hinati
me
deter
minedbywhenthecauseofactionaroseandanystatut
ebar.

TheLagosdef
endantf
il
eshi
sSODandf
ront
loadeddocument(
wit
hanysetof
forcount
er-
clai
m)
WITHIN42days-Or15Lagosofrecei
vingthecl
aimant
’swr
itofsummonsandstatementof
cl
aim.Thencl
aimantcanfi
lehi
sr epl
ywithi
n14daysofser
v i
ceofdef
endant
’spr
ocesses.

I
nAbuja,t
hedef
endantf
il
esSOD(andaccompanyi
ngfront
loadi
ngdocuments(l
i
stofwit
nessis
noti
ncl
uded)WI
THIN14daysaft
erser
viceofSOC,butmayenterappear
ancewit
hin8days.

Thecour
tusuall
yextendtimeforf
il
ingpl
eadi
ngsaft
eranappl
icat
ionbymoti
ononnot
iceand
wri
tt
enaddress.Pl
eadingsfi
l
edoutsidet
imewit
houtleav
eofcourtar
emerel
yvoi
dabl
e.

InLagos,cl
aimantshall
within14day
sofserv
iceoft
hedef
endant
’sst
atementofdef
enceand
countercl
aimifanyfi
lehisrepl
y-
Or15Lagos.

I
nAbuj
a,Cl
aimanthas7day
stor
epl
y.

Apart
ymaybymot iononnoti
cesuppor
tedbyaf
fi
davi
t(andwr
it
tenaddr
ess)di
scl
osi
ng
r
easonsappl
yforextensi
onofti
metofi
lepl
eadi
ngs.

:
: AMENDMENTOFPLEADI NGS:Byamot i
ononnot iceapplicat
ionforleavetoamend
(supportedbyaffidavitdi
scl
osi
ngcogentreasonsandwr i
ttenaddr esses)i
sgrantedwhere
necessar y
/materi
al andbonafi
detocorr
ect,edi
t,et
c.Notmor ethantwiceforLagos.Nal
saand
Team Associ at
esvNNPC.Post -
judgmentamendmenti sallowedf orMisdescri
pti
onsand
typographicerr
ors.

SUMMARYJUDGMENTPROCEDURE

:
:MEANI
NGANDPRI
NCI
PLESOFSUMMARYJUDGMENT.

Judgmentgi
venfortheplai
nti
ffwit
houtgoi
ngthr
oughfull
tri
alwherepl
ainti
ff
/cl
aimanthas
establ
i
shed(
usuall
ythroughaffi
davi
t)t
hatdef
endanthasnodefencetohisclai
m.

I
ndoingso,cour
tconsi
der
swri
tofsummons,
pleadingsofpar
ti
es,t
heappl
i
cat
ionf
orsummar
y
j
udgment,af
fi
davi
ts,
document
sandwri
tt
enaddresseswhereavai
l
able.

Usual
l
yf i
nalandgiv
enonmer i
tandcanonlybesetasi
deonappeal
exceptt
hedef
endantcan
pr
ovefraud,
non-servi
ce,
orl
ackofjur
isdi
cti
on.

Summar yj
udgmentisnott hesameasdef
aul
tjudgment
swhicharegi
venwhendefendantf
ail
s
toent
erappearanceorfil
epleadi
ngsandt
heDJcanbesetasideonti
meousappl
icati
onandin
deser
vingci
rcumstances.
TYPESOFSUMMARYJUDGMENT:

–Summar yJudgmentunderOrder11oftheLagos,EnuguandRi
versStat
es’
HighCourtRul
es:
canbeusedforever
yclai
m oncetheclai
mantbeli
evesthedef
endanthasnodefencet
ohis
cl
aim andst
atesr
easonsforthi
sbeli
efinhi
saffi
davit
.

Theclai
mantwillfront
loadhi
swritofsummons,st
atementofcl
aim,l
istofwit
nessesand
wit
nessdeposi
tionsonoat h,
copiesofdocument
stobereli
edon,af
fi
dav i
t,wr
it
tenbri
efand
motiononnoti
cef orsummaryjudgment.

Def
endantmayfront
load(
excl
udi
nglistofwit
nesses)andf
il
ecounteraf
fi
dav
itwithwri
tt
enbri
ef
i
nrepl
ytotheappli
cati
oni
fhewishestodefend.Fi
lednotl
atert
hantheti
meprescri
bedfor
def
ence42days.

I
fitappearstojudgethatthereisagooddefence,hemaygrantleavet
odefend.Ot
herwise,
j
udgmentwoul dbeent eredforthecl
aimantwithr
especttot
hef ul
lorapar
toftheclai
m or
defendants-
Or11.Summar yJudgmentinLagosisonthemeritandsetasi
debythesamecour t
onlyforfr
aud,non-ser
vice,orl
ackofjur
isdi
cti
on.Other
wisei
tmustbeappealedUTCvPamot e,
Ir
onPr oductsLtdvSACLt d.

–Summar yJudgmentundertheundef
endedl
i
st(
Order21Abuj
a):sameasdi
scussedsofar
onl
ythati
tapplest
oli
quidat
edmoneydemandsandisfi
ledbywri
tofsummonsandaffi
davi
t.

I
ft hejudgebel i
ev esthereisnodefencetotheclaim,heput sthesuitdownf orheari
ngunderthe
undef endedlistandj udgmentisgi
v enaccor
dingly.Buti
fthedef endantcan(withi
n5day st
othe
dateofhear ingt hesui t
)deli
veranoticeofi
ntenti
ont odefendwi t
hanaf fi
davitdi
sclosi
ng
defenceont hemer itthencasecanber emovedf r
om undef endedli
standplacedont he
ordinary/generalcausel i
standcourtmayorderpleadingsorpr oceedtohear i
ng.

SeealsoAlsoOr23UR, 23Oyo,
24Anambra,11Riv
er s,
12FHCCPR.Thecl
aimantcannotobject
orappealt
hatadefendantwasgrant
edl
eavetodefendSect
ion241(
2)CFRN.Leventi
sMot ors
LtdvGCSMbonu
–ConsentJudgment

–Summar
yJudgmentonadmi
ssi
onsoff
act
sanddocument
s.

–Summar
yjudgmentonadmi
ssi
oni
nacasemanagementconf
erence.

–Summar
yJudgmentf
orAccounti
naBusi
nessTr
ansact
ionOr
der16Lagos.

–Summar yJudgementf
orPossessi
onofLandoccupi
edbysquat
ter
sorwi
thoutt
heowner
’s
consent
-53Lagos

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KE

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