William Angadi V. Peoples Democratic Party & Ors (2018)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

SIDI DAUDA BAGE, J.S.C.

This is an appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division delivered on the 14th day of August, 2014 coram: Honourable Justices M. A. Adumein, T. Komolafe-Wilson and J. E. Ekanem, wherein, the learned Justices of the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal taken out by the Appellant in this appeal. The uncontroverted facts that led to this appeal are as follows:

The Appellant and 3rd Respondent are both members of the 1st Respondent, a Political Party and both parties contested primary election under the auspices of the 1st Respondent in respect of the General Election into the House of Representative for Bomadi/Patani Federal Constituency of Delta State. This primary election held on 6th December, 2014. The result of the primary elections is being contested by the Appellant. The 1st Respondent submitted the name of the 3rd Respondent to the 2nd Respondent as its candidate for the general election, this action of the 1st Respondent grieved the Appellant, who as a result, took out an originating Summons before the Federal High Court in Suit

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No: FHC/ABJ/CS/1049/14 on 18th December, 2014 and subsequently another at the F.C.T. High Court in Suit No:FCT/HC/CV/887/14 on 23rd December, 2014 seeking Orders against this decision of the 1st Respondent.

In response to the suit of the Appellant (then Plaintiff) before the F.C.T. High Court, the 3rd Respondent, who was also 3rd Respondent before the Lower Courts, entered conditional appearance on 28th January, 2015 and filed a Notice of Preliminary Objection before the Lower Court on 4th March, 2015 asking the trial Court to dismiss the suit of the Appellant for being a gross abuse of judicial process. On the date slated for definite hearing of the Preliminary objection, the trial Court gave a Ruling wherein it dismissed the action of the Appellant as constituting a gross abuse of judicial process without calling parties to address it on the Preliminary objection, or hearing Parties on the Objection filed.

Dissatisfied with the Ruling of the trial Court, the Appellant appealed to the Court below on 9(nine) grounds. The 3rd Respondent again, filed a Notice of Preliminary objection challenging the competence of the appeal and praying the

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Court below to strike out the Appeal for want of identifiable signatory to the Notice of Appeal. He also filed a Respondent’s Notice, which was deemed as properly filed on 23rd July,2015, to contend that the decision of the trial Court be affirmed on grounds other than those relied on by the trial Court. The Appellant further filed a Notice of Preliminary Objection to challenge the competency of the said Respondent’s Notice.

In its judgment delivered on 14th August, 2015, the Court of Appeal dismissed the 3rd Respondent’s Preliminary Objection citing substantial justice over technical justice, the Court below also dismissed the Appellant’s Preliminary Objection to the 3rd Respondent’s “Respondent’s Notice” and upheld the Respondent’s Notice. The Court however, considered the fact that such decision may be overturned on

Appeal to the Court and abundanti cautela decided on the substantive appeal.

Again, dissatisfied with the decision of the Court below, the Appellant has taken out this Appeal by a Notice of Appeal filed 6th March 2017 but deemed as filed on 16th October, 2017, premised on 11 grounds of Appeal.

The Appellant filed his Brief of Argument dated on 24th

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