NIGERIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Abubakar Anafi, Larry Nkwor, Justice Uka-Ofor and Ayomide Abiodun, G. Elias
Perpetual Injunctions Perpetual injunctions are permanent orders granted at the conclusion of a suit, prevent- ing a party from engaging in certain activities indefinitely. They are granted after a claimant has proved its case before the court. 6.2 Arrangements for Obtaining Urgent Injunctive Relief Interim injunction orders are granted on an urgent basis to prevent irreparable damage. They may be obtained quickly where there is real urgency. Applications for such injunctions are made ex parte (without putting the other party on notice) due to the real urgency involved, which must be demonstrated in the application. An interim injunction can be obtained from the court within seven days from the date of filing the application for the same. The steps to be taken are to file an ex parte motion and ensure that the case is assigned to a judge and that the applica- tion is fixed for hearing. Thereafter, the applica- tion is heard and determined by the court. There are no arrangements for out-of-hours judges in Nigeria. However, the rules of the courts make provisions for vacation judges to handle cases and applications of real urgency during court vacations. 6.3 Availability of Injunctive Relief on an Ex Parte Basis Injunctive relief can be obtained ex parte in the absence of the respondent. 6.4 Liability for Damages for the Applicant An applicant may be held liable for damages suf- fered by the respondent if the injunction is sub- sequently discharged. In the affidavit supporting the application for an injunction, the applicant
must undertake to pay damages to the respond- ent in the event that the injunction is granted in error. This also applies to ex parte applications for interim injunctions. 6.5 Respondent’s Worldwide Assets and Injunctive Relief Injunctive relief may be granted against assets outside the jurisdiction of the court. 6.6 Third Parties and Injunctive Relief Injunctive relief can only be obtained against a named party in the same litigation. The courts do not grant injunctions against third parties. 6.7 Consequences of a Respondent’s Non-compliance In the case of non-compliance, a respondent may be liable for contempt of court which may lead to the imposition of a fine or imprisonment. The respondent may also be denied a right of audience in court until it has complied with the injunction order. In Nigeria, trials are usually conducted by way of the oral examination of the witnesses, in relation to the parties usually being required to “front- load” their witness evidence (through witness statements on oath) alongside their pleadings at the commencement of a suit and points of exchange of pleadings. Accordingly, the wit- nesses are led by counsel to adopt their witness statements on oath as their evidence-in-chief. However, cross-examinations and re-examina- tions are done orally. Trials begin with the examination-in-chief of the claimant’s witness. During this stage, witnesses 7. Trials and Hearings 7.1 Trial Proceedings
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