First City Monument Bank PLC V. Garba Usman Nagogo (2016)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

JOSEPH EYO EKANEM, J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment)

The respondent entered into a share loan agreement with appellant for the acquisition of stocks of quoted companies as approved by the respondent. The transaction went sour resulting in the Abuja Multi-Door Courthouse appointing one Engineer Ononbhara Odigie as the sole arbitrator to arbitrate in the dispute between the parties. The appointment was subsequently agreed to and confirmed by the parties at a preliminary meeting held on 17/8/2009.

The sole arbitrator made his award in favour of the respondent. The award is dated 28/2/2010. The award was however published or made known to the appellant on 6/5/2010. Aggrieved by the award the appellant commenced Suit No.FHC/HC/CV/1786/10 at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja (the that Court for short) by an application pursuant to Section 30 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1988. It sought for a setting aside of the award on the ground that the arbitrator misconducted himself and thereby committed an error on the face of the record. The Suit was filed on 16/6/2010

The respondent responded to the

suit by, inter alia’ filing a notice of preliminary objection challenging the jurisdiction of the trial Court on the ground, inter alia, that the suit was statute barred having been commenced more than three months after the award was delivered.

In its ruling, the trial Court held that the action was statute barred as it was brought outside the period of three months stipulated by Section 29(1) (a)and (b) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1988.

Dissatisfied with the ruling, the appellant appealed to this Court by way of a notice of appeal which was amended by an order of this Court made on 13/11/15.

Mazi Afam Osigwe, of counsel, for the appellant in his brief of argument filed on 16/11/15 formulated the following issues for the determination of the appeal.

“A Whether the trial judge was right in his decision that the Arbitration and Conciliation Act does not intend that time for applying for the setting aside of an arbitral award pursuant to Section 29 (1) would begin to run from the date the arbitral award is communicated to the parties?

B. Whether the Court was correct in its decision that the action is statute barred.”

Augustine B. Afolabi, Es; for the respondent’ in his brief of argument dated 14/12/2015 adopted the issues formulated in the appellant’s brief.

Having read the processes in this appeal’ it is my view that only one issue arises for determination in this appeal. It is issue B in the appellants brief. I shall be guided by it with slight modification as follows:

Whether the trial Court was correct in its decision that the action of the appellant was statute barred.

This single issue covers the two issues and the arguments thereon by the appellant and the respondent