C.F.A.O. v. ZACCA

ABBAN J, sitting in the High Court, determined a defendant’s application to strike out and dismiss a suit brought by the plaintiffs, including C.F.A.O., that sought a declaration, security, and an injunction to restrain execution of a Court of Appeal judgment arising from the hire‑purchase dispute with S. Zacca. After the Court of Appeal increased damages in favor of the present defendant‑applicant, the plaintiffs paid N¢30,000 as a deposit while contemplating a review and a later appeal to the newly established Supreme Court under the 1969 Constitution. The judge held that the Supreme Court’s appellate jurisdiction under article 105(1), read with article 172 and the Transitional Provisions, applies only to appeals from the Court of Appeal constituted by the Constitution, and that only reviews pending at commencement (per section 13(2) of Schedule I) could be deemed Supreme Court appeals. Because no review was pending on 22 August 1969, the plaintiffs had no right of appeal. Their declaratory and injunctive action lacked any legal foundation and was dismissed as frivolous and vexatious, with costs assessed at N¢200.