Civil Cases Criminal Cases

1. The principle is always the same: A The principle is always the same: a
sues B for causing damage to A or person is accused of a crime (e.g.,
to something belonging to A. murder, assault, identity theft)

2. The person taking the case asks to

be compensated, that is, to have the The government takes a case against
damages repaired. Compensation is the person accused of the crime. The
usually in the form of money. government is also called the
“prosecution”.

3. Both the person taking the case and

the person being sued can be
The government is always represented
represented by a lawyer if they
by lawyers. These lawyers are called
wish.
“criminal and penal prosecuting
attorneys.”
4. The person who loses the case They used to be called “Crown
usually pays the fees related to the prosecutors.”
court case itself (e.g., experts’ fees,
In most cases, the government pays all
administrative fees).
the costs of the case.

5. The deadlines vary depending on

the type of case. For example,
someone who wants to sue for
defamation – damage to a person’s
reputation – has one year to take a Generally, there is no deadline for
case. bringing a criminal case against
someone of a crime.

1a. ????
1b.
1c. Chief Justice of Nigeria.

1d. Federal Revenue Court.

 Bankruptcy and insolvency

 Aviation and safety of aircraft

 Arms, ammunition and explosives

 Drugs and poisons

 Mines and minerals (including Oil fields, Oil mining, geological surveys and natural gas)

 Weights and measures

 The administration or the management and control of the Federal Government or any of
its agencies

2.?????
2b.
i. The Literal Rule: According to this rule, the words used in statutes and legal
instruments are to be construed literally i.e. by giving the words their ordinary
grammatical meaning. 
ii. The Golden Rule: By this rule, the wordings of a statute or legal instrument must be
given their ordinary grammatical meaning but where the ordinary meaning will lead to
absurdity, the Court should adopt an interpretation that avoids such absurdity.
iii. The Mischief Rule: According to this rule, in order to interpret a statute properly, it is
necessary to consider what the law was before the statute to be construed was passed
and what mischief did the old law not provide for as well as the remedy/cure for that
mischief which is provided by the statute being interpreted. In short, this rule
stipulates that the Court basically should construe statutes in such a manner as to
suppress the mischief and advance the remedy.
iv.  It is a general principle of law that statutes must be read and interpreted as a whole.
Thus, where a section of a statute is sought to be interpreted, the Court should consider
 other sections. This principle was applied in the case of Tegwunor v. State (2008) 1
NWLR (Pt. 1069) 630 at 656 and Rotimi Ameachi v INEC (supra) at page 314
paragraphs G – H.
v. The Context Rule – this states that the words of the statute are to be read and
interpreted within the context in which they have been used. For example, the words
“in particular” as contained in Item 61 of the 1979 Constitution was interpreted by the
Supreme Court in the case of A.G Ogun State v Aberuagba & Ors (1985) 1 N.S.C.C
487 as having delimiting effect.  
2c.   If a debt is barred under statute, it means that by law (the Limitation Act), the lender
has run out of time to use certain types of action to try and make you pay the debt.

2d. Limitation Law or Statute of Limitation is a Law that restricts the time within which
Legal proceedings may be brought to court. It entails that a suit must be commenced within a
specific period, failing which the right of action therein becomes extinguished, otiose or
statute barred. Where a statute prescribes a time-bar within which an action shall be instituted
such statute bears the name ‘Limitation Law’. If an aggrieved person exhibits
tardiness by suing his wrong doer outside the statutorily allowed time-bracket, his suit
becomes statute-barred. Thus, an action is statute-barred when no proceedings can be brought
to court on the ground that the statutory period laid down by the law has expired by
passage of time.

Limitation Law is a shield or defence that operates at the instance of the defendant. The said
defence must be specifically raised in the Defendant’s pleading. However, where a Limitation
Law has not been pleaded, it can be raised subsequently at any stage of the proceedings or
on appeal because limitation Law is an issue that goes to the root of jurisdiction of the
court. In the case of ADETULA V. AKINYOSOYE (2017) 16 NWLR (PT. 1592) 492
AT 520 PARAS G-H, the court held thus: An action challenged on the ground of
Limitation Law is to
effect a challenge to jurisdiction and this may be raised without leave even though it is a new
issue of law that may not have been raised and determined at the trial court.

Limitation Law removes the right of action of the Plaintiff, although, the Plaintiff may still
have a cause of action. The moment the period of Limitation for the commencement of an
action expires, the right to employ or use the judicial process of a court of law for the
enforcement of the right of action, automatically elapses by operation of the relevant
Limitation Law. In that circumstance, no court will assume the jurisdiction to
entertain the action. In the case of C.B.N. V. HARRIS (2017) 11 NWLR (PT. 1575) 54 AT
78-79 PARAS H-A, the Court held thus: Limitation Act or Law removes the right of action of a
plaintiff, his right of Judicial enforcement and right of judicial relief leaving the Plaintiff with a
bare and empty cause of action which he cannot enforce if such a cause of action is found to be
statute barred.

3a. Appointment: How are Supreme Court Justices selected? The President nominates someone
for a vacancy on the Court and the Senate votes to confirm the nominee, which requires a simple
majority. In this way, both the Executive and Legislative Branches of the federal government
have a voice in the composition of the Supreme Court.

Composition: The Supreme Court is composed of the Chief Justice of Nigeria and such number
of justices not more than 21, appointed by the President on the recommendation of the National
Judicial Council, (NJC) and subject to confirmation by the Senate.

3b. A Will is a document which ensures that your wishes with respect to your assets and property
are followed after your death, while Codicil is an instrument made in relation to a Will,
explaining, altering or adding to its dispositions and is deemed to be a part of the Will.

3c.

 False imprisonment: occurs when a person intentionally restricts another person’s

movement within any area without legal authority, justification, or the restrained person's
permission.Actual physical restraint is not necessary for false imprisonment to occur. A
false imprisonment claim may be made based upon private acts, or upon wrongful
governmental detention. For detention by the police, proof of false imprisonment
provides a basis to obtain a writ of habeas corpus. Under common law, false
imprisonment is both a crime and a tort.
  Golden rule: in English law is one of the rules of statutory construction traditionally
applied by the English courts. The rule can be used to avoid the consequences of a literal
interpretation of the wording of a statute when such an interpretation would lead to a
manifest absurdity or to a result that is obnoxious to principles of public policy. The rule
 can be applied in two different ways, named respectively the narrower approach and
the wider approach.

  Ejusdem Generis rule: a rule of construction: general words (as in a statute) that
follow specific words in a list must be construed as referring only to the types of things
identified by the specific words

 Mischief rule: is one of three rules of statutory interpretation traditionally applied by

English courts, the other two being the "plain meaning rule" (also known as the "literal
rule") and the "golden rule". It is used to determine the exact scope of the "mischief" that
the statute in question has set out to remedy, and to guide the court in ruling in a manner
which will "suppress the mischief, and advance the remedy".