IBRAHIM TANKO MUHAMMAD, J.S.C. (Delivering the Leading Judgment): One of the issues placed by the appellant for determination, which I consider more fundamental, is:
“Whether it would not have been just, fair and proper in the circumstances for the Court of Appeal to have directed/ordered the appellant to pay the appropriate filing fees in respect of its Notice of Appeal filed on 22nd March, 2010, the Appellant having taken remedial steps to regularize same.”
Your Lordships, just quite some few weeks ago, this Court was faced with the same question in Appeal No. SC. 693/2013 delivered on the 11th of December, 2015. Except for matters of details and some obvious dissimilarities, this appeal is on all fours with SC.693/2013. In SC.693/2013, which I happened to write the lead judgment, I made the following comments, among others:
“Secondly, a motion to regularize the payment of the shortfall was withdrawn by the learned SAN, Mr. Layonu, for the appellants and it was stuck out by the Court b…