Judgment
ISAH BATURE GAFAI, J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment) : This is an appeal against the decision of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory delivered on the 19th of March, 2021 Adeniyi, J. in Petition No. FCT/HC/PET/577/2020 in which the Appellant’s Preliminary Objection challenging the competence of the Respondent’s Petition and the jurisdiction of the lower Court to entertain it was overruled and dismissed.
As gleaned from the Record of Proceedings, the Respondent commenced divorce proceedings before the lower Court seeking for the dissolution of the marriage between him and the Appellant on the ground that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. In her answer to the Petition, the Appellant caused to be filed a Memorandum of Conditional Appearance, Notice of Preliminary Objection, Motion on Notice, Answer to the Petition on Protest, Cross Petition and Witness Statement on Oath.
The Appellant’s Notice of Preliminary Objection which is the basis of this appeal was heard on the 10th of March 2021 and the lower Court’s decision on it which is the reason for this appeal delivered on the 19th of March, 2021. See pages 1-138 of the Record.
Dissatisfied with the decision, the Appellant lodged this appeal vide her Notice of Appeal filed on the 29th of March, 2021 on seven Grounds; thus: “GROUND 1 “The Court below erred in law when after making the finding, “I quite understand the grouse of the Respondent/Objector with the form and content of the verifying Affidavit filed alongside the Petition by the Petitioner… The Respondent/Objector complained that the Verifying Affidavit did not continue at the foot of the Petition and that it was commenced on a separate page” it then severally examined the provision of Order V Rule 10(1) on which this objection is predicated.
I found nothing in the provision which suggest that a Verifying Affidavit must commence or continue at the foot of a Petition or on the same page where a Petition ends.” GROUND 2 The lower Court misdirected itself in law when it held: “while the Petition itself terminated at the very foot of page 19 thereof, with the address for service of the Respondent; the Verifying Affidavit reasonably commenced at the top of the very next page (page 20).
