Olali V. Nigerian Army (2020)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

EJEMBI EKO, J.S.C.

At the times material to the appeal, the Appellant was a Captain in the Nigerian Army and as such a military officer he was before the General Court Martial (GCM). He was tried and convicted by the GCM for the offence of a rape of a minor, PW.2.

The Appellant unsuccessfully appealed his conviction and sentence by the GCM. The unfavourable decision of the Court of Appeal (the lower Court) was delivered on 6th February, 2015. On 18th March, 2015 the Appellant purportedly filed notice of appeal to this Court against the 6th February, 2015 decision of the lower Court. The Appellant by virtue of Section 27(2)(b) of the Supreme Court Act Cap, S15, LFN 2004, had 30 days “from the date of the decision appealed against” to file his notice of appeal. Section 27(2)(b) of the Supreme Court Act provides –

27(2) The periods prescribed for the giving of notice of appeal or notice of application for leave to appeal are —

(a) –

(b) In an appeal in a criminal case, Thirty days from the date of the decision appealed against.

The Appellant’s notice of appeal, filed as of right, against “the decision of the Court of Appeal, Jos Division contained in its judgment delivered on the 6th day of February, 2015 in appeal No. CA/J/180C/2011 —” was filed on 18th March, 2015; which was on the 40th day of the date of the decision appealed against — calculated from the date the decision appealed was delivered.

The notice of appeal was no doubt filed out of time and it is therefore incompetent. No effort was made to regularise the notice of appeal, and it has not been regularised.

The notice of appeal is incompetent and it is hereby struck out. The appeal, being consequently incompetent, is hereby struck out.

SC.926/2015