Dr. S. A. Aluko V The Director Of Public Prosecutions Western Nigeria (1963)

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BAIRAMIAN, JSC

The appellant and two others (who have not appealed) were convicted in the High Court of Western Nigeria (Adeyinka Morgan, J. on 21st February, 1963); of an offence against section 47 (1) (c) of the Criminal Code, cap. 28 in the 1959 Laws of the Region, which provides that:

“47.(1) Any person who:

(c) prints, publishes, sells, offers for sale, distributes or reproduces any seditious publication; shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction for a first offence to imprisonment for two years or to a fine of one hundred pounds or to both” etc.

Admittedly this was a first offence and non-indictable having regard to the punishment to which the appellant was liable for publishing a seditious libel; Ground 6 of the grounds of appeal objects that:

“The learned trial Judge erred in law in holding that he had jurisdiction to try the charge which was non-indictable.”

Mr. Ayoola for the appellant referred to the definition of “Summary conviction offence” in the Criminal Procedure Ordinance, which is as follows:

“Summary conviction offence’ means any offence punishable by a magistrate’s court on summary conviction, and includes any matter in respect of which a magistrate’s court can make an order in the exercise of its summary jurisdiction;”

and he argued that as the present offence was a summary conviction offence, it could not have been tried in the High Court; alternatively, that the High Court could not try a summary conviction offence unless it was joined with an indictable offence.

The argument is built on confusion between jurisdiction and procedure, and its foundation is a mere definition. What a definition is meant to do will be discussed later. The jurisdiction of a court is made up of the classes of cases which it can hear: procedure relates to the manner in which the jurisdiction is to be exercised.

For the jurisdiction of the High Court of Western Nigeria it is enough here to refer to sections 8 and 9 of its High Court Law, Cap. 44 of its Laws. Section 8 vests in the Court the jurisdiction and powers of the High Court of Justice in England in addition to any other jurisdiction conferred by this or any other Law or Ordinance”; and section 9 goes on to vest in the Court:

”all Her Majesty’s criminal jurisdiction. for the punishment of crimes and offences”.

That comprehends all offences without distinction between those which are triable summarily by a Magistrate without consent and those which are not.

In the exercise of its jurisdiction the Court is told by section 11 that it: