HRH (DR.) IGWE EMMANUEL UGWU & 5 ORS V. HRH IGWE DENNIS EKETE & 8 ORS

ADAMU JAURO, JSC (Delivering the Leading Ruling): This is a motion for trinity prayers brought by the applicants pursuant to Orders 2 rules 28(1), 31(1) and (2); Order 6 rule 2(1) and Order 8 rule 4 of the Supreme Court Rules and under the inherent jurisdiction of this court. Reference in this ruling the Supreme Court Rules is reference to the 1985 Rules which have now been repealed and replaced by the 2024 Rules. The 1985 Rules were the extant Rules at the time of the filing of the application and all relevant processes and it is on those Rules that the parties have relied.

The applicants were the plaintiffs before the High Court of Enugu State, where they instituted an action against the first set of respondent as the only defendants. The second set of respondents were subsequently added as the second set of defendants. Both sets of defendants each counter-claimed against the applicant. The matter went through a full-scale trial, after which the trial court found against the plaintif…