Conduct of case in the court of appea

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407

hands of the parties and the Court of Appeal.” - Per Muhammad, J.C.A., in N.N.B.

Plc. v. Denclag Ltd. Suit No. CA/J/27M/2000; (2001) 1 N.W.L.R (Pt. 695) 542 at

553.

(41) CONDUCT OF CASE IN THE COURT OF APPEAL

727. Counsel must refrain from castigating trial Judges on appeal.

“Counsel should try as much as it is humanly possible to refrain from castigating

judges in the guise or cloak of arguing the case of their client. Raining aspersions on

how a Judge conducted a case is not part of good advocacy; a fortiori when the

aspersions are not borne out from the evidence. It is part of good advocacy for

counsel to see Judges as partners in the same boat of administering justice and that

both are indispensable partners in that boat. While counsel has all the freedom to

present the case of his client with all his legal strength and expertise, they should, on

no account, use the forum to attack the Judge to give the impression the he was

either biased or knew little or no law. In the instant case learned counsel’s attack

moved clearly towards the former and that is bad; bad because it is not borne out

from the evidence before the Court.” – Per Tobi, J.C.A., in Udoh v. State Suit No.

CA/E/119/89; (1994) 2 N.W.L.R. (Pt. 329) 666 at 685.

728. Proper way to conduct a case in the Court of Appeal.

(1) “Before dealing with the complaints against the judgment appealed from, we feel

that the notes, as appear on the record of proceedings, made by the Western State

Court of Appeal as to the conduct of the appeal before it call for a brief comment. It

is apparent on the face of the record that, on the appeal coming up for hearing and

without hearing arguments from learned Counsel for the respondents herein in support

of his grounds of appeal, the Western State Court of Appeal immediately called upon

learned Counsel for the appellants herein to satisfy it or to show cause why the

appeal should not be allowed thereby shifting the burden from the respondents herein

who ought to have begun, to the appellants. We think with respect, that such a

method of approach especially on a third appeal in the circumstances of the present

case on appeal is not only undesirable, it is palpably irregular.” - Per Udoma, J.S.C.,

in Adeosun v. Babalola Suit No. S.C.215/1971; (1972) 7 N.S.C.C. 401 at 405.

(2) “We think this argument of learned counsel for the appellant is right and we

deprecate what appears now to be a fairly common practice for the Court of Appeal

to disallow an appellant to argue his appeal while calling upon learned counsel for the

respondent only to answer its own questions on some points assumed to be the

crucial ones on appeal and thereafter proceeding to judgment without more.” - Per

Elias, C.J.N. in Olufodun v. Toye Suit No. S.C.198/1972; (1972) 7 N.S.C.C. 669 at

674.

403 Conduct of case in the Court of Appeal Paras. 726-728