JOSEPH TINE TUR, J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment): By virtue of Section 294(1)-(5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 any determination of a Justice of the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court constitutes a decision?? or an opinion??.
In Section 318(1) of the Constitution, Decision?? means, in relation to a Court, any determination of that Court and includes judgment, decree, order, conviction, sentence or recommendation.The word ??ruling?? is excluded from the definition. The legislature does not recognize a ??ruling?? as a determination of trial Judges, Justices of the Court of Appeal nor the Supreme Court. ?In Udoh v. Orthopaedic Hospital Management Board (1993) 7 SCNJ (Pt.2) 436 Karibi-Whyte, JSC held at page 443 as follows:
It is a well settled principle of construction of statutes that where a section names specific things among many other possible alternatives, the intention is that those not named are not intended to be included. Expression uniu…