Overtime, it has continued to be a raging controversy among legal minds on whether leave of Court should indeed be required for service of an originating process sealed from the registry of a State judicial division of the Federal High Court of Nigeriato another. Put differently, should leave of Court be required for service of originating processes issued in the Lagos State judicial division to a Defendant resident in Ogun or Anambra State.
It is to be noted that this controversy arose out of the divergent opinions of Legal Practitioners over the following issues:
- The administrative set-up of the Federal High Court of Nigeria as well as the true purport of the legal phrase “out of jurisdiction” as used in the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2009, and
- The scope of application of the Sheriffs and Civil Processes Act (“SCPA”), Cap S6…., Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
I shall summarily comment on the particularised issues stated above.