The Supreme Court has overturned a series of ex parte orders issued by the Court of Appeal in a high-profile commercial dispute involving Nestoil Limited and Neconde Energy Limited.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by a five-member panel in Abuja, the apex court held that the Court of Appeal wrongly granted the orders and subsequently set them aside.
The court expressed concern over the use of ex parte proceedings to grant reliefs with far-reaching consequences, describing the development as a "judicial tragedy."
According to the judgment, the orders granted by the appellate court were effectively interlocutory injunctions, which should not have been issued without giving all affected parties an opportunity to be heard.
The Supreme Court also ruled that the Court of Appeal assumed jurisdiction over a matter that had not been properly brought before it.
It reaffirmed the legal principle that the filing of a Notice of Appeal does not automatically vest jurisdiction in an appellate court unless other legal requirements have been satisfied.
The apex court further invalidated an ex parte order that had stayed proceedings before the trial court, holding that the order was fundamentally flawed.
As a result, all the ex parte orders challenged before the Supreme Court were vacated.
The ruling marks the latest development in the protracted legal dispute involving Nestoil and Neconde, a case reportedly linked to claims running into about $1.1 billion.
Legal analysts say the judgment provides further clarification on the limits of appellate powers in granting interim reliefs and reinforces the need for courts to exercise caution when entertaining ex parte applications.
The Supreme Court stressed the importance of adhering to established judicial procedures, particularly in cases where the orders sought could substantially affect the rights and interests of parties before the court.
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