The Lex Academy

10/01/2024

Court martial are those courts that have jurisdiction to try persons subject to service law.There are two types of Court Martial : the General Court martial and Special court martial.

A General Court martial is empowered to try a person subject to service law under the Armed Forces Act, 2004, for an offence which is triable by a court martial and shall have powers to award for the offence, a punishment authorized by the Act.

A General court martial consists of a president and not less than four members, a waiting member, a liaison officer and a Judge Advocate.
Where the court martial composition is less than seven members , it is robbed off of the jurisdiction to impose death sentence.

The final decision of a General Court martial can only become effective, binding and enforceable if and only if such decision has been confirmed by the Army Council.

In exercising her confirming authority, the Army Council may vary the sentencing and such decision does not turn the decision of the Army Council which is the confirming authority but it shall remain the decision of the General Court Martial.

Section 148(3) of the Armed Forces Act, 2004; Abdullahi v. Nigeria Army [2023] 18 NWLR (Pp349-350, Paras. F-E)

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22/10/2023

In a suit, multiplicity of applications before the court may be inevitable. Sometimes, the different applications are for different purposes which would usually favour the party bringing the application.

A defendant in a suit may find reason upon which the suit at the instance of the plaintiff ought to be struck out, for instance, on the ground of non-compliance with a procedural rule while the plaintiff's application may be seeking leave to regularize the application. Hence, the proper thing for the court which is a court of justice and equity is to first take the application which seeks to regularize the suit. This is in accordance with the rule that courts are expected to do substantive justice and not technical justice.

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15/10/2023

The life of a person is sanctimonious and inviolable, therefore the law frowns at a violation of a person's life. Hence, an unlawful homicide attracts either a punishment of death or life imprisonment according to whether the offence is one of Murder or Manslaughter.

Interestingly, the Criminal Code contains limitation as to the time of the death. Thus, for a person to be guilty of causing the death of another, the death must occur within the period of one year and a day of the unlawful act or omission. See Section 314 of the Criminal Code, Cap C.38, LFN 2004.
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14/10/2023

14/10/2023

Once the cause of action has been determined in any suit, the most pertinent question becomes whether the action is statute barred or not. This is because for every cause of action, there is a limitation period.

The rationale behind limitation period is to prevent the defendant from anticipating a suit perpetually. Thus, the popular say, 'delay is not denial' does not apply here, for delay is very fatal vis-a-vis when the action becomes statute barred.

There is a limitation period for every cause of action and this can be determined by the nature of the transaction and the date the cause of action accrued.

To determine when the cause of action arose, resort is had to the Statement of claim or the particulars of claim.

The following are some transactions with their limitation periods:
Public Officers - 3months by Virtue of Section 2(1)(a) of the Public Officers Protection Act (POPA)
Defamation - 3years
Simple Contract -6years
Contract under seal -12years

In conclusion, once the limitation period of a cause of action has expired, the action because statute barred and dead. The court would always decline jurisdiction and the plaintiff/Claimant can never have a remedy in law. This is rightly an exception to the maxim- Ubi Jus Ibi Remedium- where there is a wrong, there is a remedy.

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14/10/2023

Cause of action means the factual situation stated by the plaintiff, which if substantiated, entitles him to remedy against the defendant and this includes various events which may have occurred or circumstances and facts which had arisen over time which would when complete, constitute the cause of action. Where the events and circumstances are not complete, no cause of action would accrue.

In an action for the recovery of debt, the cause of action accrues upon demand for the payment of the debt. If no demand is made, a cause of action does not arise and no action can be commenced.
This is because, a debt is repayable either on demand or on notice given or upon other condition agreed upon by the parties.
Therefore, where a party does not have a cause of action, the court would lack jurisdiction to adjudicate on such matter.