NIGERIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Abubakar Anafi, Larry Nkwor, Justice Uka-Ofor and Ayomide Abiodun, G. Elias
• will enable the court to effectively and com- pletely determine the real issues in contro- versy; • is necessary for the fair and just determina- tion of the suit; • will prevent a multiplicity of actions; • will enable the claimant to enforce the judg- ment; and • is necessary in the interest of a fair hearing. The rules of courts also allow third-party pro- ceedings where there would be a joinder of a third party shown to the court as the party that would bear the eventual liability. The applicant must make this application for joinder by filing a motion on notice accompanied by an affidavit and a written address. 4.5 Applications for Security for Defendant’s Costs Generally, giving security for costs is prohibited under Nigerian law. However, a party may be required to provide security for costs in certain exceptional circumstances. This can arise in election petition matters, during the prosecu- tion of appeals, and in interim and interlocutory applications for injunctions. 4.6 Costs of Interim Applications/ Motions Costs may be awarded after the determination of applications by the court, subject to the discre- tion of the court. The court may award costs in favour of a successful party to compensate the party for the out-of-pocket expenses incurred and time lost. Those awards are usually not sub- stantial. Applications for costs may be made (i) in the application being heard by the court or in the respondent’s response to the application; and/ or (ii) orally, after the court’s determination of the
application. The award of costs is entirely at the discretion of the court and may be made without an application by the parties. 4.7 Application/Motion Timeframe There is no timeframe for the hearing of appli- cations. The timing for hearing of applications depends on the nature of the application and the state of congestion or otherwise of the courts’ dockets. Applications of an urgent nature are usually heard and determined expeditiously. After hearing an application, the court may either deliver a bench ruling on the day the appli- cation is heard or adjourn for ruling to a date not exceeding three months from the date the application is heard. Where the respondent to an application decides not to oppose the appli- cation, the courts may hear and determine such an application expeditiously, even within a day of filing. Interim applications for injunctions are usually heard and determined by the court within seven days from the date of hearing the application. Further, a party may request by way of letter and/ or affidavit of real urgency that an application be dealt with expeditiously by the court. Under Lagos and Federal Capital Territory Court Rules, discovery may be of facts (other- wise called interrogatories) and/or documents (inspection) and they are both available to any party to civil proceedings. Interrogatories may include questions on facts directly in dispute. Scandalous and irrelevant questions are not per- missible in interrogatories. The delivery of docu- ments is made further to a written request to a party to deliver documents in their possession. 5. Discovery 5.1 Discovery and Civil Cases
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