“The cases in which appeals lie to this Court are set out in Section 117 of the Constitution, and the matter turns on the correct construction of that section. Subsection (1) confers jurisdiction on this Court to hear and determine appeals from the High Courts. Subsection (2) sets out the cases in which an appeal shall lie as of right, and Subsection (4) the cases in which an appeal shall lie with leave. Subsection (6) prescribes the persons by whom a right of appeal shall be exercisable. These subsections read as follows- (1) “The Supreme Court shall have jurisdiction, to the exclusion of any other court of law in Nigeria, to hear and determine appeals from the High Court of a territory. (2) An appeal shall lie from decisions of the High Court of a territory to the Supreme Court as of right in the following cases- (a) final decisions in any civil proceedings before the High Court sitting at first instance; (b) where the ground of appeal involves questions of law alone, decisions in any criminal proceedings before the High Court sitting at first instance; (c) decisions in any civil or criminal proceedings on questions as to the interpretation of this Constitution or the constitution of a Region; (d) decisions in any civil or criminal proceedings on questions as to whether any of the provisions of Chapter III of this Constitution has been contravened in relation to any person; (e) decisions in any criminal proceedings in which any person has been sentenced to death by the High Court or in which the High Court has affirmed a sentence of death imposed by some other Court; and (f) such other cases as may be prescribed by any law in force in the territory: Provided that nothing in paragraph (a) of this subsection shall confer any right of appeal- (i) from any order made ex parte; (ii) from any order relating only to costs; (iii) from any order made with the consent of the parties; or (iv) in the case of a party to proceedings for dissolution or nullity of marriage who, having had time and opportunity to appeal from any decree nisi in such proceedings, has not so appealed, from any decree absolute founded upon such a decree nisi.” “(4) Subject to the provisions of Subsections (2) and (3) of this Section, an appeal shall lie from decisions of the High Court of a territory to the Supreme Court with the leave of the High Court or the Supreme Court in the following cases- (a) where the ground of appeal involves questions of fact, mixed law and fact or quantum of sentence, decisions in any criminal proceedings before the High Court sitting at first instance; (b) any case in which, but for the terms of the proviso to Subsection (2) of this section, an appeal would lie as of right to the Supreme Court by virtue of paragraph (a) of that subsection; (c) decisions in any civil or criminal proceedings in which an appeal has been brought to the High Court from some other Court; and (d) such other cases as may be prescribed by any law in force in the territory.” “(6) Any right of appeal to the Supreme Court from the decisions of the High Court of a territory conferred by this section- (a) shall be exercisable in the case of civil proceedings at the instance of a party thereto or, with the leave of the High Court or the Supreme Court at the instance of any other person having an interest in the matter and in the case of criminal proceedings at the instance of an accused person or, subject to the provisions of Section 104 of this Constitution and any powers conferred by the constitution of a Region to take over and continue or to discontinue such proceedings, at the instance of such other persons or authorities as may be prescribed by any law in force in the territory; and (b) shall be exercised in accordance with any Acts of Parliament and rules of court for the time being in force in the territory regulating the powers, practice and procedure of the Supreme Court.” of the subsections of which the text has not been quoted, Subsection (3) deals with appeals in election petitions and the like, Subsection (5) is procedural and Subsection (7) contains a definition of “decision”.”
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