“No Company In Nigeria Can Be Served Court Processes By Substituted Means.”

[DAILY LAW TIPS by Onyekachi Umah,Esq. (Tip 241)

“NO COMPANY IN NIGERIA CAN BE SERVED COURT PROCESSES BY SUBSTITUTED MEANS.”

Contrary to common opinion/practise among fellow lawyers, no company in Nigeria can be served by substituted means. Substituted means is employed where personal service of court processes on natural being(human being) fails or may fail. Companies and corporations are not natural/human beings and as such personally service cannot be effected on them. Since personal service cannot be effected on companies, there can never be substituted service on companies. The Companies and Allied Matters Act as well as Rules of different courts, have provided clear means of serving court processes on companies in Nigeria. This includes service on Officers of Companies or delivering/leaving such on registered office or branch offices of companies without needing an order of any court for substituted service. Hence, Lawyers should stop wasting time in court seeking for order of substituted service on companies!

My authorities are section 78 of Companies and Allied Matters Act, Rules of all Courts in Nigeria and the Judgments in the following Supreme Court and Court of Appeal cases;

1. MARK V. EZE (2004) 5 NWLR (PT. 865) 54, (SC)

2. NBC PLC V. UBANI (2014) NWLR, PT. 1398 at 421, (SC)

3. PLASTEX (NIG) LTD V. MAINLAND OIL & GAS (2018) LPELR-43509(CA),

4. OBADINA & ORS V. FASOYINRO (2017) LPELR-42182(CA),

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