Alfred Akporido & Ors V. Petroleum Training Institute (2012)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

TUNDE OYEBANJI AWOTOYE, J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment)

This is the Judgment in respect of an appeal by the Appellants and the cross-appeal by the Cross-Appellants against the Ruling of Delta State High Court delivered on 25/6/04 by R.N. Pemu J (as she then was).

The Appellants were the Plaintiffs at the court below. The Plaintiffs by paragraph 20 of their joint Statement of Claim claimed jointly and severally against the Defendant (now the Respondent/Cross Appellant) as follows:

“1) “A mandatory order that the Plaintiffs having been regularly retired from the services of the Defendant are entitled to their retirement benefits.

2) An order of Perpetual Injunction restraining the Defendant, its privies, assigns and agents from withholding, disturbing and or tampering with the retirement benefits of the Plaintiffs therein.”

The Defendant by paragraph 4 of its Statement of Defence challenged the competence of the action thus:

“(a) The Defendant shall before or at the trial contend that the Plaintiffs’ action is incompetent for misjoinder of parties and causes of action as the Plaintiffs do not have a joint employment with the Defendant and that the Delta State High Court lacks jurisdiction to entertain the Plaintiffs’ claim.

(b) In the alternative the Defendant shall urge this Honourable Court to dismiss the Plaintiffs’ claim as the Plaintiffs are not entitled to any of the reliefs and that the entire case discloses no reasonable cause of action, it is frivolous speculative gold digging and brought in abuse of the process of this Honourable Court.”

There is no doubt that the Defendant/Respondent is an agency of the Federal Government. In fact the Plaintiffs/Appellants in paragraph 6 of their joint Statement of Claim averred that much as follows:

“The Defendant is a parastatal of the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources invested with the powers amongst others to provide courses of institution Training and Research in Petroleum Technology and to produce technicians and other skilled personnel required to run the Petroleum Industry.”

On 15/5/2003 the Defendant filed a motion on notice dated 14/4/2003 praying for “striking out this suit in its entirety as this Honourable Court lacks jurisdiction to entertain the claim. TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the grounds for this application are:

1) “That the Defendant has been sued in its official capacity as agency of the Federal Government.

2) By Section 251 (1) p, q and r of the 1999 Constitution, the Federal High Court has and exercises jurisdiction to the exclusion of any other court in civil cases and matters to determine the claims as formulated.

3) By virtue of the above section the Delta State High Court lacks jurisdiction to entertain this case.