Human Rights Activist, Hameed Ajibola Jimoh has written a letter of complaint to the Chief Judge of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory- Abuja, calling for the reversal of the imposition of High Court Rule on seal on documents at the Magistrate/District Courts.

Mr. Jimoh made this appeal in a letter dated the 8th day of January, 2020, and titled, “COMPLAINTS AGAINST APPLICATION AND IMPOSITION OF THE HIGH COURT OF FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORYS RULE ON SEAL (TO BE AFFIXED ON COURTS DOCUMENTS) TO MAGISTRATE AND DISTRICT COURTS OF THE FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY-ABUJA AND A HUMBLE CALL FOR REVERSAL TO PREVIOUS STATUS QUO IN THE ABSENCE OF ANY RULE/LAW INVALIDATING SUCH IMPOSITION”.

Below read his letter 

8th January, 2020.

The Honourable, the Chief Judge,

High Court of the Federal Capital Territory- Abuja,

Headquarters,

Maitama,

Abuja.

My Lord,

COMPLAINTS AGAINST APPLICATION AND IMPOSITION OF THE HIGH COURT OF FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY’S RULE ON SEAL (TO BE AFFIXED ON COURT’S DOCUMENTS) TO MAGISTRATE AND DISTRICT COURTS OF THE FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY-ABUJA AND A HUMBLE CALL FOR REVERSAL TO PREVIOUS STATUS QUO IN THE ABSENCE OF ANY RULE/LAW INVALIDATING SUCH IMPOSITION

  1. The above subject matter refers, My Lord.
  2. I am aware that since the 1st day of July, 2019, it had become mandatory on all counsel and litigants to obtain (upon the payment of the sum of two hundred naira (N00) only), seal of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory-Abuja-herein after referred to as the High Court of the FCT-and affix same on all court’s documents filed in the Registry of the Court. I have however observed that in as much as this Rule of the Court is only supposed to be applicable to the High Court (simply), this Rule has been taken beyond prescription and practice and has been wrongly applied and imposed on all Magistrate and District Courts across the Federal Capital Territory-Abuja despite no Rule/Law invalidating or mandating such imposition or application. This is the basis of this complaint to Your Lordship for a reversal of such misapplication and unlawful imposition of such Rule on those inferior/lower courts (despite no Rules/Law permitting same).
  3. My Lord, the following reasons and legal arguments and submissions are the grounds for these complaints which are stated in paragraphs for Your Lordship’s just consideration and determination of this complaints:
  4. A close observation of the seal would discover and reveal that the seal bears on its face ‘JUDICIARY: HIGH COURT OF THE FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY’. This in my humble view, shows clearly that the seal is only applicable to the High Court of the FCT and not inclusive of the Magistrate and District Courts or any other courts;
  5. Court’s processes filed in either the Magistrate or District Courts throughout the Federal Capital Territory-herein after referred to as the FCT- are not filed within the jurisdiction of the High Court of the FCT rather, within the jurisdiction of the Magistrate/District Courts. So, in my humble view, the seal Rule applicable in the High Court of the FCT in this case, cannot apply to these Magistrate/District Courts without any specific Rule/Law specifically imposing same on those courts, even though they are all courts established for the FCT;
  • Magistrate/District Courts are courts established by an Act of the National Assembly for the FCT and by section 89(1)(a) of the District Courts Act, CAP 495, Laws of the FCT, 2007, (for instance), Rules of Court can only be made pursuant to such section 89 of the Act by Your Lordship with the approval of the President of the Federation. However, up till the writing of these complaints, with due respect Your Lordship, I have not seen or laid my hands on any such Rule or Practice Direction made by Your Lordship imposing the application of seal to the Magistrate/District Courts in the FCT to be affixed on all Court’s processes made before those Courts (I may be wrong). With due respect My Lord, I humbly argue and submit that even if this Rule of seal as applicable to the High Court of the FCT is to be made or presumed to apply to the Magistrate/District Courts of the FCT, it would have been wrong and unreasonable in a democratic civil society to impose such Rule of the High Court of the FCT by implication on those courts with different jurisdiction and having different statutory establishment to that of the High Court of the FCT. I humbly refer Your Lordship to the provisions of section 36(8) and (12) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended);
  1. For the Rule on seal to be applicable to the Magistrate and District Courts of the FCT, there must be a manifest decision of Your Lordship to that effect by a manifest compliance with the clear and unambiguous provisions of the section 89(1)(a) of the District Courts Act (supra) (the District Courts Act also being a statutory Act of the National Assembly just as the High Court of the FCT Act, Laws of the FCT, Abuja, 2007 was made by the National Assembly for the FCT). The said section 89(1)(a) of the District Courts Act (supra) provides thus ‘

‘The Chief Judge with the approval of the President may make rules of court for all or any of the following purposes-

  • Regulating the practice and procedure of District Courts in civil proceedings in respect of which no specific provision is made in this Act or any other written law’;
  1. Unless and until such Rule/Law for the imposition or affixing or application of any such seal for the Magistrate/District Courts is made (if need be or necessary), the current imposition of the seal of the High Court of FCT’s seal on Magistrate/District Courts as a Rule of general application is wrong, unlawful, invalid, without any effect, unconstitutional, unreasonable, unjustifiable in a democratic civil society, null and void and same shall be discontinued and or reversed forthwith;
  1. I had been made to pay the sum of two hundred naira (N00) only for such seal on the 12th day of November, 2019, on my filing of a Plaintiff’s Final Written Address to be used in the Chief District Court of the FCT, Lugbe Judicial Division, holden at Lugbe, FCT- Abuja. A photocopy of the front page of the said Court’s process is attached to this letter and is marked as Annexure A.
  2. I therefore humbly pray Your Lordship for the following as urgent as possible:
  3. A reversal of this practice/Rule in the Magistrate/District Courts forthwith;
  1. Issuance of a prohibitory circular(s)/order(s) to all Magistrate/District Courts’ Registries/Registrars in the FCT against such unlawful imposition of the Rule of seal of the High Court of the FCT to the Magistrate/District Courts;
  • The above requests to be done within not exceeding seven (7) working days from the receipt of this letter, failure which will leave me with no option than to involve other appropriate government’s institutions to ensure compliance. 
  1. Decision of Your Lordship to be served on me not later than the said above given seven (7) working days, as such service is a clear proof to me of the grant of my requests here made.
  1. While I expect an urgent grant of my requests, I wish Your Lordship compliments of the season and a prosperous new year!

Yours faithfully,

Hameed Ajibola Jimoh Esq.

Sole Practitioner/Principal Counsel/Human and Socio-economic Rights Activist.

Cc:

  1. The Chief Registrar, High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Headquarters, Maitama, Abuja.
  1. The Director, Magistrate/District Courts, FCT-Abuja, Wuse Zone 2, Abuja.
  1. The Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association, Abuja Branch (Unity Bar).
  1. The Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association, Bwari Branch.
  1. The Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association, Gwagwalada Branch.
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