Sadiq Nuhu V. Director Of State Security Service Kwara State Command (2017)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

HAMMA AKAWU BARKA, J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment)

This appeal is against the decision of A. O. Faji of the Federal High Court Ilorin in suit No: FHC/IL/CS/6/2012, delivered on the 8th of December, 2015; wherein the learned trial judge dismissed the appellants application brought by way of a motion exparte, filed on the 27th of November, 2015.

The facts generating the instant appeal do not appear to be in dispute. It is on record that the appellant as applicant in suit No: FHC/IL/CS/6/2012, before the lower Court, initially applied for the enforcement of his fundamental Rights, and the records show that appellant?s action before the trial Court succeeded wherefore, appellant was awarded damages of N2, 000,000 by the trial Court.

Dissatisfied with the said decision, the respondent herein appealed to this Court, and the appeal with appeal No: CA/IL/35/2013, partly succeeded in favour of the appellant in that, the costs of N2,000,000 was considered excessive, and reduced to N320,000 with N75,000 as costs.

?The appellants efforts in seeing to it that the judgment debt is settled by the respondents

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proved abortive, consequent upon which appellants by way an exparte application brought pursuant to the provisions of Section 83(1) of the Sheriff and Civil Process Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, Order 37 Rule 1 and 2 of Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2009, and the inherent jurisdiction of this Court sought for the following Orders:-

”1. ORDER NISI against all the accounts of the Department of State Security (The Judgment Debtor), maintained by the judgment Debtor with the Garnishees, that the account be attached to satisfy the judgment sum of N320,000,00 (Three Hundred and Twenty Thousand Naira only) and N25,000.00 (Twenty Five Thousand Naira Only) being cost awarded against the judgment Debtor by the Lower Trial Court on the 25th day of January, 2013.

2. Fifty Thousand Naira (N50,000.00) as cost of this proceedings.
3. And for such further order(s) as this Honourable Court may deem fit to make in the circumstance of this case.”

The application was heard on the 2nd of December, 2015 and six days later, being the 8th of December, 2015, the learned trial judge delivered the vexed ruling to the effect that:

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?It is pertinent to state that the deponent has no personal knowledge of the facts but relied on information supplied to her by the judgment Creditor.

Order 37 Rule 2(C) provides that the deponent shall provide his or her source of information or the grounds for belief. Paragraph 3 (j) and (k) deposed to fact provided to the deponent by the judgment Creditor and stated that judgment debtor has account with 5 named banks who are indebted to judgment Debtor.