A legal practitioner, Emmanuel Ekpenyong, has prayed the Supreme Court to set the appeal against the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Mr Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, seeking an order compelling him to promulgate the order to bring Part 1 of the Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act, CAP. F35, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria into operation, down for accelerated hearing.
Ekpenyong dragged the AGF to the Supreme Court after the Court of Appeal, in appeal number: CA/A/132/2020, between Ekpenyong and AGF, dismissed the appeal on May 12, 2022.
The Appeal Court upheld the judgment of the Federal High Court (FHC), Abuja, delivered by retired Justice Anwuli Chikere, that the AGF has absolute discretionary powers under Section 3 (1) of the Act to promulgate an order to bring Part 1 of the Act into operation.
But the Supreme Court had, on May 27, 2024, granted leave to Ekpenyong to appeal the judgement of the Appeal Court, which dismissed his appeal against the AGF.
A five-member panel of the apex court, in a unanimous ruling delivered by Justice Adamu Jauro, granted the appellant’s prayer for leave of the apex court to seek redress against the Court of Appeal’s judgment.
Meanwhile, Ekpenyong of the law firm of Fred-Young & Evans LP filed his Appellant’s Brief marked: SC/CR/92/2024 dated and filed on Oct 17, 2024.
The human right and constitutional lawyer, therefore, said that more than two months since he filed his brief at the apex court, the respondent (AGF) was yet to respond.
He therefore filed a motion on notice pursuant to Order 4, Rule 1, Order 16, Rules 2(1), Rules 4(1) and 12 of the Supreme Court Rules, 2024, Section 22 and 27 of the Supreme Court Act and under the inherent jurudiction of the court.
In the motion he filed on January 17, 2025, Ekpenyong sought an order to set down appeal number: SC/CR/92/2024; between him and the AGF, for hearing on his brief of argument dated October 17, 2024 alone.
He also sought “an order of this Honourable court for accelerated hearing of Appeal No. SC/CR/92/2024; Emmanuel Ekpenyong Esq. v AGF in the interest of justice and national interest.”
In his six-ground of arguments, the lawyer said he filed his Appellant’s Brief of Argument within the time stipulated under the rules of the court.
According to him, the 30 (thirty) days period stipulated under the rules of this Honourable court for the AGF to file his Respondent’s Brief of Argument has since expired.
He submitted that the AGF had not filed his brief of argument because he does not have a formidable response against the issues of law raised and argued in the Appellant’s Brief before the court.
“Since the enactment of the Foreign Judgment Reciprocal Enforcement Act, CAP. F35, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1990 (“the Act”) in 1960, shortly after Nigeria’s independence, the Act has not come into operation because successive Attorney Generals of the Federation have not promulgated an Order pursuant to Section 3 (1) of the Act to bring the Act into operation.
“This appeal is in the interest of justice and national interest because Nigeria, Nigerians and Nigerian businesses lose several millions of dollars every day in business opportunities and international trade because Nigeria does not have a modem legislation on recognition and registration of foreign judgments.
“Accelerated hearing of this appeal will clear the air on the extent of the AGF’s administrative discretion under Section 3 (1) of the Act as well as that of other public officers under Nigeria’s constitutional democracy and lead to a landmark decision which will improve Nigeria’s legal system,” the lawyer argued.
