PATRICK MICHAEL & ORS V. BANK OF THE NORTH

KUMAI BAYANG AKA'AHS, J.S.C. (Delivering the Leading Judgment): This is an appeal by the appellants against the Ruling of the Court of Appeal, Kaduna in CA/K/22M/2001 delivered on 16/4/2002 wherein the Court of Appeal refused to set aside its judgment delivered on 10/12/2001. The Notice of Appeal dated 20/6/2002 contained nine grounds of appeal from which the following four issues were distilled for determination:

1. Whether the learned justices of the Court of Appeal in the circumstances of this case could be said to have had the inherent jurisdiction and indeed the duty to grant the appellants' application of 30/1/2002 and set aside their judgment of 10/2/2001 based on the defects in the filing, service and contents of the Notice of Appeal, as having been given without jurisdiction and therefore being a nullity, and/or as having been obtained by fraud (Grounds of Appeal Nos. 1, 3, 4, 5 and 8)

2. Whether, in view of the amendment of the processes and proceedings in the Lower Court in…