Judgment
CHIDI NWAOMA UWA, J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment): The Adamawa State High Court presided over by his Lordship Abdulrahman, J. (hereafter referred to as the trial Court) on the 4th day of April, 2019 upheld a preliminary objection raised by the respondents and consequently declined to entertain the application for judicial review filed by the Appellants.
The background facts are that the Appellants were the Applicants who approached the trial Court for a judicial review of the proceedings of the Upper Area Court, Numan. The 1st – 4th Respondents sued the Appellants in suit No. UACN/CV/FI/6/2018 at the Upper Area Court, Numan presided over by the 5th Respondent.
In their application for the issuance of the writ of summons dated 18th January, 2018, at pages 36 – 38 of the printed records of appeal, the 1st – 4th Respondents claimed ownership of Nwanma Fish Pond and sought a declaration that they are entitled to perform traditional rites/rituals over the fish pond. It was alleged that the sale of the fish pond by the 1st – 4th Appellants to the 5th Appellant without their consent was wrong.
It was made out that on the same date 18/1/2018 of the application for the issuance of the writ of summons was filed, the 5th Respondent sat and apart from issuing injunctive orders against the Appellants, also set aside the sale of the fish pond to the 5th appellant by the 1st – 4th appellants without the knowledge of any of the Appellants of the action against them. The orders of the Upper Area Court Numan are at page 51 of the printed records of appeal.
The second order read thus: “I hereby set aside the purported sale of Nwanma Fish Pond to the 6th Defendant/Respondent by the 1st – 5th Defendants/Respondents.”
The Appellants made out that the writ and other Court processes were not endorsed for service on the applicants outside the jurisdiction of the trial Court in Taraba State. Also, that the Respondents’ counsel in his application for issuance of the summons represented that some of the Respondents and the Appellants residing in Jen, Taraba State were within the jurisdiction of the Upper Area Court, Numan in Adamawa State, reference was made to paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Respondents’ application for the writ of summons, pages 36 – 37 of the printed records.
