Supreme Court Warns Lawyers against Filing Frivolous Appeal on Decided Cases

Wale Igbintade

The Supreme Court has again warned legal practitioners to refrain from instituting actions on cases that had already been decided by the court.

The apex court gave the warning in its judgment delivered in the appeal filed by a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Chief Ikie Aghwarianovwe, at the Federal High Court in Asaba, to challenge the eligibility of Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori to contest the March 18 governorship election.

Specifically, Aghwarianowe, had sought the disqualification of the governor over the alleged falsification of documents.

He alleged that Oborevwori submitted false documents to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to aid his qualification for the 2019 House of Assembly election in Delta State.

But while denying the allegations, Oborevwori through his lawyer, Damian Dodo, among others, raised an objection that the suit was statute barred, pointing out that documents submitted to INEC in 2018, towards the 2019 general election could not be a ground for disqualification of a candidate in 2023.

The trial court upheld this objection, saying the plaintiff failed woefully to substantiate the allegations of forgery.

Dissatisfied, Aghwarianovwe through his counsel, Dr. Alex Izinyon, approached the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal. He asked the appellate court to upturn the decision of the Federal High Court.

But the court in a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Peter Olabisi Ige, upheld the ruling of the lower court and resolved all the issues for determination in favour of Oborevwori.

Justice Ige who cited a plethora of authorities, chided Aghwarianovwe for alleging falsification of documents without calling the institutions that issued the certificates to Oborevwori, saying the plaintiff’s case was moribund and could not be revived under any guise.

Equally not satisfied with the decision, Aghwarianovwe again through Izinyon headed to the Supreme Court, asking the apex court to upturn the verdict of the Appeal Court, citing miscarriage of justice.

But the apex court, after listening to Oborevwori’s lawyer, Dodo, dismissed the appeal for lacking in merit and upheld the judgment of the Court of Appeal and Federal High Court, Asaba. It held that no matter how the appeal is viewed, it is bound to fail as same was dead on arrival.

Dismissing the appeal, Justice Adamu Jauro, in his lead judgment, which was read by Justice Emmanuel Akomaye Agim, in a unanimous judgment held that the appellant failed to prove his case beyond a reasonable doubt.

While dismissing the appeal for lacking in merit, the court ordered the applicant to pay N3 million each as the cost of the suit to Oborevwori and his party, the PDP which was joined in the suit.

After the judgment and fine, the court considering the fact it had decided similar cases in the past, again used the opportunity to warn counsel to refrain from instituting actions on issues that had already been decided by the court.

It stated that while counsels were at liberty to ask for a departure from decisions, they should not pretend to be ignorant of already decided cases of the Court on the same matter.

“Counsel should refrain from instituting actions on issues that have already been decided by the court. Counsel should refrain from testing waters on decisions already decided by the court, as same is wrong practice.

“Counsel can ask for a departure from such decision, but not act ignorant as to already decided cases of the court on the matter,” the court admonished.