Judgment
SAIDU TANKO HUSSAINI, J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment) : This appeal came up for hearing on the 11th January, 2022.
Parties on both sides were absent, so was their counsel absent from the proceedings at the hearing on the said date. The Appellant was however represented by counsel in the person of Aminu Alhassan on the 24th November, 2021 when a new date was fixed against the 11th January, 2022 for the hearing of the Appeal. It is also on account of the respondent’s desire to engage a new counsel that the appeal case had to be adjourned to 11th January, 2022 to accommodate respondent’s new counsel.
As indicated before, when the appeal came up on 11th January, 2022 parties and their counsel were absent at the hearing. There is every indication that the Respondent and his new counsel, Mr. Lateef. Omoyemi Akangbe, of integrity Law Haven, No. 28 Ahmadu Bello way, Sokoto had been put on Notice of the impending hearing vide the Notice of hearing served on Counsel/Secretary on the 6th January, 2022. The appellant had long before then filed his brief of argument through his counsel, the brief having been filed on the 23rd February, 2021 and served on the Respondent on 23rd October, 2021.
Respondent did not however file any brief in response. That was the setting as at the 11th January, 2022 when the appeal came up for hearing.
Order 19 Rule 9(4) of the Court of Appeal Rules, 2021 provides thus: – “When an appeal is called and the parties have been duly served with the Notice of hearing but a party or any legal practitioner appearing for him does not appear or present oral argument even though briefs have been filed by all the parties concerned in the appeal, the appeal will be treated as having been duly argued.” Order 19 Rule 10(3) of the said Rules further provide thus:- “When a Respondent, who has been duly served with the Appellant’s brief, fails to file his brief within the time stipulated in this order, or within the time as extended by the Court, the Court shall, upon being satisfied that the Respondent was duly served with a hearing notice, hear the appeal without the necessity of an application by the Appellant to hear the appeal on the Appellant’s brief alone.” Guided by the above mentioned provisions of the Rules of this Court, we went ahead and took the appeal on the 11th January, 2022.
