Alison Idris Nigeria Limited V. Pinash Investment Services Limited (2016)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

JUMMAI HANNATU SANKEY, J.C.A.(Delivering the Lead Ruling)

This Ruling is predicated upon a motion on notice dated and filed on 28-09 2015 by the Applicant. It is brought pursuant to Section 241(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Order 7 Rules 1, 6 and 7 of the Court of Appeal Rules, 2011. Therein, the Applicant seeks:

?1. An order of Court extending time for the Applicant within which to appeal against the Judgment of the Gombe State High Court sitting at first instance in Suit No. GM/129m/2011 in the matter of the consolidated cases with Suit no. Gm/37/2011 & Gm/129m/2010 between the present parties, presided over by Justice Paul Idi Apollos as delivered on 7th January, 2014.

2. AND for such further or other orders as this honourable Court may deem fit to make in the circumstances.”

The grounds for bringing the application are succinctly set forth in the motion as follows:

i. ?The Applicant was the Defendant in one case with Suit No. Gm/129m/2011 filed by the Respondent while it was the Plaintiff in Suit No. Gm/37m/2011 where it sued 10 Defendants including the present Respondent all at

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the Gombe State High Court.

ii. The two sets of suits which were presided over by the same judge were consolidated where it won partially in a judgment delivered on 7/1/2014.

iii. Considering the banker/customer relationship that led into the said cases, appellant was of the opinion that they could still settle out of Court.

iv. That instead of appealing the said Judgment he went into consultation for out of Court settlement while the other party started taking steps to enforce part of the said Judgment especially that part that was against the applicant.

v. The Applicant on discovering this first filed a motion for extension of time to appeal the said judgment but his application had some technical errors therefore was later withdrawn on 4/6/2015 and accordingly struck out

vi. This is a new application brought after the 1st was withdrawn and struck out for certain irregularities.?

The motion is supported by an affidavit of seven paragraphs deposed to by one Jabani J. Mamza, a junior Counsel in the Law Firm of Aki, P.A. & Company, and four annexures marked Exhibits NQ, EO, NA and HCJ, which are: the quit notice, the

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