Arjay Limited Vs Airline Management Support Ltd (2003)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

U. ONU, J.S.C.

By an application for a writ of summons dated the 21st day of March, 1997, the respondent as plaintiff, claimed against the appellants who were defendants before Abdullahi Musdapher, J. of the Federal High Court sitting in Kano, as follows:

“1 The sum of US $575,000.00 (Five Hundred and Seventy Five Thousand United States Dollars) being special damages suffered by the plaintiff as a result of the defendants’ alleged breach of aircraft lease agreement made by the parties on the 3rd of February, 1997.

2 The sum of US $500,000.00 (Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) being general damages suffered by the plaintiff as a result of the defendant’s alleged breach of aircraft lease agreement made by the parties on the 3rd of February, 1997.

3 Cost of filing and prosecuting this action.

4 Further or other reliefs.”

The background facts leading to the filing of this appeal may be briefly stated as follows:

By a motion ex parte dated 21st March, 1997, the respondents asked for and were granted an order for interim injunction restraining the appellants from removing the aircraft out of the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano. On the 25th of March, 1997, the respondent got leave to issue and serve the writ of summons and other processes on the appellants outside the jurisdiction of the court by substituted means. Four days after the order of interim injunction was obtained, the respondent also on the same 25th March, 1997, brought a motion on notice for an order of interlocutory injunction. Upon the service of these processes on the appellants, they appeared by counsel and objected to the action on grounds of want of jurisdiction on the premise that the contract, subject-matter of the suit, was entered into in the United Kingdom and to be performed in Equatorial Guinea and all the appellants were resident outside the jurisdiction of the court. The appellants also prayed the court below to strike out the names of the 2nd and 3rd appellants from the suit, as they were not privy to the contract which forms the subject matter of the suit and in the alternative to the 1st two prayers, an order setting aside or discharging the order of interim injunction. Arguments were proffered on the application aforesaid and a ruling thereon was delivered on 14th of April, 1997 wherein the learned trial Judge dismissed the objection to jurisdiction and all the other prayers of the appellants save the last prayer to which was added by amendment of the appellants’ motion and preliminary objection dated the 4th of April, 1997 praying that the aircraft be released upon provision of adequate security by the appellants.

The learned trial Judge thereupon ordered the release of the aforesaid aircraft upon payment by the appellants of US $100,000.00 to the Registrar of The Federal High Court, Kano who would use the same to open an interest yielding account with the Union Bank, Kano in trust for the parties and an inspection of the aircraft by officials of the Civil Aviation Authority of the United Kingdom, failing which officials of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nigeria were to conduct the inspection.

Subsequent to the ruling, the respondent brought a motion ex parte dated the 30th of April, 1997 to vary the order of the learned trial Judge for the deposit of US $100,000.00 paid into court to be converted to its Naira equivalent to be used by the Registrar of the court to open an interest yielding account with the Union Bank of Nigeria PLC in trust for the eventual winner.

The said motion ex parte having been moved and granted as prayed in the respondent’s favour, the appellants moved their own motion on notice dated 2nd of June, 1997 praying the court to set aside the order of 30th April, 1997 converting the security into its Naira equivalent. This motion was moved but the same was dismissed via a ruling of the court dated 17th June, 1997.

Being dissatisfied with the ruling of the 14th April, 1997 and that of 17th June, 1997, the appellants brought three (3) appeals before the Court of Appeal sitting in Kaduna (hereinafter in the rest of this judgment referred to as “the court below.”) Appeal number one is against the decision made by the trial court on a motion ex parte dated 14th April, 1997. Appeal number two on the other hand, is against the ruling of the same trial court on 21st March, 1997.

At the hearing of the appeal before the court below at which briefs were filed and exchanged, the appellants abandoned the second appeal while what was left for it to consider was the judgment on jurisdiction and conversion of the security into Naira.

In its judgment dated the 18th of January, 2000, the court below (per Omage, JCA and concurred in by Ayo Salami and Mahmud Mohammed, JJ.C.A.) held in respect of appeal number one thus: