Supreme Court Declares Chiefs Council Non-Juristic Entity

The Supreme Court has declared that the Andoni Chiefs Council is not a Juristic entity and therefore cannot sue or be sued.
The court’s decision was contained in a lead judgment delivered by Justice Abdul Aboki in a suit filed by the Andoni Chiefs Council against the judgment of the Port Harcourt Division of the Court of Appeal delivered on the 17th of November, 2014.
In an unanimous Judgment the Apex court held that the Andoni Chiefs Council which is made up of 120 Chiefs is in contravention of Section 11(2) of the Law and is therefore not a legal Juristic or judical person to be clothed with the right to sue or be sued in a court of Law and in the circumstances, it cannot appoint any other person to sue on its behalf.
“Consequently, I answer the questions” whether the Court of Appeal committed any error in law when it held that the Appellants suit before the High Court was in competent” in the negative and resolved this issue against the Appellants.
According to the apex court, “The rational behind this is that law suits are in essence the determination of any legal rights and obligations in any given situation.
Therefore, only such natural and juristic persons in whom the rights and obligations can be vested are capable of being proper parties to law suits before courts of law.
“The consequences of the above is that in the instant appeal, for the Appellants suit to be properly constituted so as to vest jurisdiction on the trial court, the Appellants as plaintiffs must have the capacity and legal competence to initiate it.
Other issues raised by the Appellants which are whether the Court of Appeal has jurisdiction to entertain the 1st-4th respondents Appeal when same had been withdrawn and deemed by operation of law to have been dismissed whether the Appellants notice of preliminary objection at the Court of Appeal against ground 1 of the 1st-4th respondents ground of Appeal was competent in law and if so, whether the court of Appeal was right in law to have suo motu struck it out, without asking the parties to address it on the competence thereof were also dismissed among others.

By: John Bibor & Oribim Ibama