*Rules Order Made Without Jurisdiction Is A Nullity, Faults Trial Judge
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The Court of Appeal, Kaduna Division, has set aside a ruling of the High Court of Kaduna State, Zaria Division, which transferred a criminal charge involving alleged conspiracy, forgery and use of a forged document from the High Court to a Magistrate Court for determination.
The appellate court held that the trial judge acted outside his jurisdiction by transferring the matter to the Chief Magistrate Court, stressing that under the relevant Kaduna State laws, the power to transfer cases from one court to another belongs to the Chief Judge of the state, not to an assigning or trial judge.
The judgment was delivered on May 5, 2026, in Appeal No. CA/K/75/C/2023, between The State as appellant and Zainab Tahir Yusuf and Ibrahim Kalayi as respondents. The panel comprised Justice Abimbola Osarugue Obaseki-Adejumo, JCA, who delivered the lead judgment, with Justices Abdullahi Mahmud Bayero and Sybil Nwaka Gbagi concurring.
The appeal arose from Charge No. KDH/Z/41C/2022 before the High Court of Kaduna State, Zaria Division. The respondents had been charged with a four-count offence bordering on criminal conspiracy, forgery and using as genuine a forged document under the Penal Code Law of Kaduna State.
During proceedings at the lower court, the second respondent filed a preliminary objection seeking, among other reliefs, an order dispensing with his appearance pending the hearing and determination of the objection, and an order dismissing the charge against him on the ground that it amounted to an abuse of court process.
He argued that no known offence had been disclosed against him, contending that he merely acted as a qualified legal practitioner who was engaged by the first respondent to draft a deed of assignment in his professional capacity.
The second respondent also asked the court to dismiss the charge on the ground that the complainant was allegedly forum shopping, having filed related complaints before other courts in Zaria over the same allegations.
The first respondent also filed a motion seeking to strike out the charge, arguing that it constituted an abuse of court process.
After considering the applications, the trial court did not dismiss the charge. Instead, the judge ordered that the matter be transferred from the High Court to the Chief Magistrate Court No. 1, Chediya Road, Zaria, for determination.
Dissatisfied, the State appealed against the ruling, challenging the power of the trial judge to transfer the criminal matter to a Magistrate Court.
The appellant argued that the trial judge, who was not the Chief Judge of Kaduna State, lacked the jurisdiction to transfer a criminal matter from the High Court to a Magistrate Court.
It contended that the statutory power to transfer criminal proceedings from one court to another was vested exclusively in the Chief Judge, and that any transfer made by a trial judge outside that authority amounted to a nullity.
The appellant also argued that the lower court granted a relief not sought by the respondents, since their applications were for dismissal or striking out of the charge, not for transfer of the matter to another court.
In response, the respondents argued that the trial judge, as the assigning judge in the Zaria Judicial Division, had the discretion to transfer the matter in the interest of justice, particularly where the court’s docket was congested.
They contended that the order did not occasion a miscarriage of justice, since the ultimate aim was to ensure that the case was heard.
Resolving the appeal, the Court of Appeal held that the relevant issue was whether the trial judge had the power to transfer the case to a Magistrate Court.
Justice Obaseki-Adejumo, in the lead judgment, examined Section 11 of the Kaduna State Administration of Criminal Justice Law, 2017, which provides that the Chief Judge may transfer a case from one court to another where it appears that such transfer will promote the ends of justice or the interest of public peace.
The court also considered the High Court Civil Procedure Rules of Kaduna State, which similarly vest transfer powers in the Chief Judge.
The appellate court held that the combined effect of the provisions is that the Chief Judge of Kaduna State is the authority empowered to transfer matters between courts.
It ruled that a trial judge may assign cases within his division where there is more than one judge, but that such administrative authority does not extend to transferring a matter from the High Court to a Magistrate Court.
According to the Court of Appeal, the trial judge exceeded his powers when he ordered the transfer of the criminal charge to the Chief Magistrate Court.
The court stressed that where a statute provides that an act must be done in a particular manner, it must be done only in that manner and no other way.
The appellate court held that the trial judge’s order was made without jurisdiction and therefore amounted to a nullity.
“An assigning judge is not an exception; rather, what the law admits is that the power is solely that of the Chief Judge,” the court held.
The court further held that even if the trial judge was the assigning judge in a division with more than one judge, such power was limited to assigning matters to judges within that division and did not include transfer to a Magistrate Court.
Consequently, the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal and set aside the part of the lower court’s ruling delivered on February 21, 2023, which transferred Charge No. KDH/Z/41C/2022 to the Magistrate Court.
The appellate court ordered that the case be returned to the Chief Judge of Kaduna State for reassignment to another judge other than Justice K. Dabo.
Justice Abdullahi Mahmud Bayero and Justice Sybil Nwaka Gbagi agreed with the lead judgment, holding that the appeal had merit and should be allowed.
The decision reinforces the principle that judicial and administrative powers must be exercised strictly within the limits prescribed by law, particularly in criminal proceedings where jurisdictional errors can render proceedings a nullity.
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