BELOXXI & COMPANY LIMITED & ANOR v. SOUTH TRUST BANK & ORS
(2014)LCN/6943(CA)
RATIO
WHETHER FAILURE TO DELIVER JUDGEMENT WITHIN STIPULATED TIME WOULD RENDER SUCH JUDGEMENT A NULLITY
The law on the point is quite recondite. I shall first set out the relevant provision of the law.
Section 294(1) & (5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria provide: “(1) Every court established under this Constitution shall deliver its decision in writing no later than ninety days after the conclusion of evidence and final addresses and furnish all parties to the cause or matter determined with duly authenticated copies of the decision within seven days of the delivery thereof.
(5) The decision of a court shall not be set aside or treated as a nullity solely on the ground of non-compliance with the provisions of subsection (1) of this section unless the court exercising jurisdiction by way of appeal or review of that decision is satisfied that the party complaining has suffered a miscarriage of justice by reason thereof.” The law is clear. Failure to deliver the judgment within three months does not automatically render the judgment a nullity. The Appellant must satisfy the court that he has suffered a miscarriage of justice thereby. The appellant is aware of this and made a futile attempt to set up what he considered to be flaws in the judgment which showed the recollection of the learned trial Judge had waned giving rise to a miscarriage of justice.
The law is that the miscarriage of justice must be tangible and clear on the face of the proceedings. The injury allegedly suffered by the appellant must be clearly traceable to the failure of the trial judge to deliver the judgment within the statutory period. The section cannot be used as a saving grace for a losing party to have a judgment against him set aside. See Walter V. Skyll (Nig.) Ltd (2001) 3 NWLR (Pt. 701) 438 @ 474 D – G; Chukwu V. The State (1992) 1 NWLR Pt. 217) 255 @ 271. The appellant clearly has no case. He cannot use the delivery of the judgment outside the statutory period to have this very sound judgment set aside. I agree totally with the submissions of the Mr. Aju on this issue. Per CHINWE EUGENIA IYIZOBA, J.C.A
