By Chika Henry Ezeh Esq.
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- Introduction:
Criminal matters in Abuja are mostly instituted at the Federal Capital Territory Area Courts and dominate the daily business of the Court. The obvious reason for this reality could presumably be for the fact that Area Courts are court of Summary Jurisdiction and matters are quickly dispensed with in accordance with the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.
The criminal jurisdiction of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Court recently became murky water when the FCT High Court in the case of Gladys Chukwu v. Hon. Gambo Garba FCT/HC/M/4499/19 relying on the case of Barr. Anugo Ifeanyi Chukwu v. The Grand Khadi Sharia Court of Appeal & 2 Ors FCT/HC/CV/2107/14 held that the Area Court in FCT does not have criminal jurisdiction. Nevertheless, the decision of the Court in the case of Barr. Anugo Ifeanyi Chukwu v. The Grand Khadi Sharia Court of Appeal is still the subject of Appeal, therefore making the Jurisdiction of Federal Capital Territory Area Court uncertain.
The Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 makes its provisions to be applicable in the Area Courts and defines Courts to include Area Court, Section 8(3), and 10 of Federal Capital Territory Abuja Area Courts (Repeal and Amendment) Act, 2010 made reference to criminal matters and criminal jurisdiction while Section 51 of the Act defines “Cause” to include criminal proceedings. However, there is no express provision in the Federal Capital Territory Abuja Area Courts (Repeal and Amendment) Act, 2010 that confers criminal jurisdiction on the Area Courts in the FCT.
Therefore, can Area Courts in FCT Abuja assume Criminal jurisdiction by virtue Section 8(3), 10 and 51 of Federal Capital Territory Abuja Area Courts (Repeal and Amendment) Act, 2010 where there is no express provision conferring criminal jurisdiction to the court? This piece attempts to proffer answer to the above question. To achieve this purpose, this paper is divided into four sub-topics, the first paragraph is a brief introduction to the topic under discussion, second paragraph examines the creation of Area Courts in Abuja, and third Paragraph appraises the criminal jurisdiction of Area Court in Abuja while the fourth concludes the topic.
- Establishment and Constitution of Area Courts in Abuja:
Courts are creation of the Law or Act. Area Courts in Federal Capital Territory Abuja are creation of Act of National Assembly. Generally, Area Courts were previously Native Court and only existing in the Northern Nigeria and Federal Capital Territory Abuja. The reorganization of the Native Courts led to the establishment of the Area Courts under the Area Court Edict of 1967.[1]
Pursuant to Section 1(1) Federal Capital Territory Abuja Area Courts (Repeal and Enactment) Act, 2010 it establishes such grades of Area Courts for the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Area Courts in FCT Abuja are divided into the following grades;
- Upper Area Court
- Area Court Grade 1
- Area Court Grade 2
An Area Court shall consist of an Area Court Judge sitting alone[2] and shall hear and determine all questions on Islamic Personal Law.[3]
- Criminal Jurisdiction of Area Courts in Federal Capital Territory Abuja:
Can the Area Courts constituted and sitting in the Federal Capital Territory entertain criminal matters? Do they have criminal jurisdiction?
Jurisdiction has been defined as the enabling power of the court to entertain a matter, without which a Court labours in vain. It is the life blood of any adjudication- a threshold matter. So fundamental is it, that is (Sic) can be raised at any stage of proceedings, even for the first time on appeal and whenever it is questioned, the court must determine the issue, before any further proceeding can validly be undertaken in the matter. See the cases of Madukolu v. Nkemdilim (1962) 2 SCNLR 341, Ohakim v. Agbaso (2010) 19 NWLR (pt 1226) pg 127 at 269
To determine whether Area Courts in FCT Abuja has criminal Jurisdiction, recourse will be taken to the law establishing Area Courts in Abuja because it is trite law that to decide whether a Court has jurisdiction or not on any cause or matter, we must reach for the constitution where necessary or the statute creating the Court.[4]
Prior to the 2010 Act, Area Courts Act CAP 477 LFN 2006 in Sections 18, 19(1) and 22(a) confers criminal jurisdiction to Area Courts in FCT, to hear and determine criminal cases in accordance with the provisions of the Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code existing then. However, in 2010, the National Assembly enacted Federal Capital Territory Abuja Area Courts (Repeal and Enactment) Act which repealed the Area Courts Act of 2006. In the 2010 Act, Sections 18 and 19(1) of the 2006 Act which conferred Criminal Jurisdiction on the Area Courts in FCT Abuja were conspicuously removed. It is not the inadvertence or legislative error or draftsman incompetence or inaccuracy that those relevant provisions touching on the criminal jurisdiction of the Area Court were omitted in the 2010 Act. For clarity sake, it is important to bring out the provisions of those sections in full; Section 18 of the Area Courts Act, 2006 CAP 477, Laws of the Federal Capital Territory provides that:
“An Area Courts shall have jurisdiction and power to the extent set forth in the warrant establishing it, and subject to the provisions of this Act, and of Criminal Procedure Code Act, in all Civil and Criminal Causes in which all the parties are subject to the jurisdiction of the Area Court” (emphasis mine).
Section 13 of the FCT Area Courts (Repeal and Enactment) Act, 2010 (which is impari material with Section 18 of the 2006 Act) provides;
An Area Courts shall have jurisdiction and power to the extent set forth in the warrant establishing it, and subject to the provisions of this Act, and of Civil Causes in which all the parties are subject to the jurisdiction of the Area Court”
There is no gainsaying that the 2010 Act expressly and clearly deleted the wordings, “of criminal procedure code Act, in all civil and criminal causes” which should have vest the Area Court with criminal jurisdiction.
The Rule of interpretation Expressio Unius Est Exclusio Alterius (the expression of one thing is the exclusion of the other)[5]will go to show that the National Assembly intended and have in fact removed the criminal jurisdiction of Area Courts in the FCT Abuja. See the case of Gladys Chukwu v. Hon. Gambo Garba FCT/HC/M/4499/19 pg.12.
The proponent of the argument that Area Courts in Abuja has jurisdiction to try criminal matters anchored their argument on the fact that Section 494 of Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 defines Courts to include Area Courts and makes its provision to be applicable to Area Courts. However, the above provision of ACJA cannot inure to confer criminal Jurisdiction on the Area Courts because ACJA been a procedural Law cannot confer jurisdiction on any Court, it only looks to the future when criminal jurisdiction will be conferred on the Area Courts through Act of the National Assembly. See Gladys Chukwu v. Hon. Gambo Garba pg 9.
Furthermore, the view that Sections 8(3), 10, and 51 of the 2010 Act mentioned criminal jurisdiction, criminal matters and defines “Cause” to include criminal proceedings, therefore Area Courts does have criminal jurisdiction is erroneous. Issues of jurisdiction must be expressly, clearly, and unequivocal provided by the enabling Statute, it cannot be left to conjecture or inference from the ancillary provisions, or definition of some terms in the Act. The Court in Gladys Chukwu v. Hon. Gambo Garba rightly put it that to infer jurisdiction from the ancillary provisions, or definition of some terms in the Act would amount to expansion of jurisdiction. Courts are only allowed to expound their jurisdiction and not to expand it.
In addition to the above, the FCT High Court in Gladys Chukwu v. Hon. Gambo Garba held further that assuming but not conceding that Area Courts have criminal jurisdiction, the condition under Section 11 of the Federal Capital Territory Abuja Area Courts (Repeal and Enactment) Act 2010 upon which Area Court will assume jurisdiction in Criminal matters, has not been met. Section 11 provides that: “Subject to the provisions of this Act, and any other written law, the following persons shall be subjects to the jurisdiction of the Area Court
- Any person who is a Muslim
- Any other person in a cause or matter who consents to the exercise of the jurisdiction of the Area Court.
What the above means is that consent of parties is a condition precedent upon which Area Court can assume jurisdiction, and where that is lacking, the proceedings of the court are nullity.
- Conclusion:
Until the decision of the Court in Gladys Chukwu v. Hon. Gambo Garba, and Barr. Anugo Ifeanyi Chukwu v. The Grand Khadi Sharia Court of Appeal & 2 Ors are upturned by the Court of Appeal or the Federal Capital Territory Abuja Area Courts (Repeal and Enactment) Act, 2010 is amended to vest Area Courts with criminal jurisdiction, Area Courts in FCT Abuja do not have the jurisdiction to try or entertain criminal matters.
[1] Y.D.U. Hambali, Practice and Procedure of Criminal Litigation in Nigeria, 2nd Edition (Feat Print and Publish Ltd 2018), pg 14.
[2] Section 2(1) of Federal Capital Territory Abuja Area Courts (Repeal and Enactment) Act, 2010
[3] Section 2(2) ibid.
[4] Barr. Anugo Ifeanyi Chukwu v. The Grand Khadi Sharia Court of Appeal & 2 Ors FCT/HC/CV/2107/14 pages 54-60
[5] Rodaro v. Royal Bank of Canada (2000) OJ 272
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