ANON LODGE HOTELS LIMITED & ANOR V. MERCANTILE BANK OF NIGERIA LIMITED

SAMSON ODEMWINGIE UWAIFO, JCA (Delivering the Leading Judgment): This appeal raises the issue of territorial jurisdiction of a court over a subject-matter. That is to say, whether a court in one state has jurisdiction to hear and determine a civil matter which ought to have been instituted in another State. The defendants/appellants being dissatisfied with the ruling given on the issue by Ecoma, J., on 21 August, 1987 at the Calabar High Court have complained against it on two grounds.

The plaintiff took out a writ of summons on 17 February, 1986 at the Calabar High Court against the defendants for the sum of ₦1,508,630.15 being the amount of loan/overdraft given them by the plaintiff together with accrued interest thereon. In the writ of summons and Particulars of Claim upon which the writ was issued, and also the Statement of Claim which was later filed, the address of the defendants was given as No. 157/159 Aba Road, Port Harcourt, Rivers state. Indeed, the defendants were served b…