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WHAT ARE VAGUE AND UNREASONABLE GROUNDS OF APPEAL

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Dictum

In this preliminary objection, the crux of the complaint is that the grounds of appeal in the notice of appeal are vague and unreasonable. Vague and unreasonable grounds of appeal from our established principles of law are those grounds of appeal couched in a manner which does not provide any solid or explicit standard for it to be understood. An illusive complaint which is lacking in depth and is more windy, evasive, ambiguous, debatable, disputable and inexplicable. See the cases of Set Success Ent.& Co., Ltd v. Ibeju-Lekki Local Government (2021) LPELR — 56608 (SC), Adamu v. C.O.P. Plateau State Command (2020) LPELR – 51956 (CA).

— S.J. Adah, JCA. Luck Guard v. Adariku (2022) – CA/A/1061/2020

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CANNOT FRAME MORE ISSUES THAN THE NUMBER OF GROUNDS

The law is well settled that in practice, there should be no proliferation of issues. Therefore out of three grounds of appeal, an appellant cannot formulate or frame four issues. In other words, a party cannot frame more issues than the number of grounds of appeal.

– Adumein JCA. Adewoyin v. Executive Governor (2011)

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ISSUE MUST ARISE FROM A GROUND OF APPEAL

It is trite law that an issue for determination in an appeal must relate to and arise from the grounds of appeal filed. Therefore any issue which is not related to any ground of appeal is not only vague but also incompetent and liable to be ignored in the determination of the appeal or struck out.

– Mahmud JSC. Ogiorio v. Igbinovia (1998)

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AIM OF GROUND OF APPEAL IS TO OUT THE OPPOSING PARTY IN NOTICE OF COMPLAINT

It is now trite in law that the aim or purpose of a ground of appeal is to give the opposing party notice of the case it has to meet at the appellate Court and the particulars of error or misdirection alleged only intended to showcase the complaint against the decision appealed against. The particulars are not independent of the ground but must be in harmony and compatible with the grounds.

— Tanko Muhammad, JSC. Berger v Toki Rainbow (2019) – SC.332/2009

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ISSUE MUST BE GOTTEN FROM THE GROUNDS OF APPEAL

An issue is derived from a ground where the subject matter of the issue is the same as the subject matter of the complain in the ground. As this court has established in a long line of cases overtime, any issue raised for determination in an appeal that is not based on or covered by any ground of the appeal is not valid for consideration and must be struck out.

– Agim JSC. Pillars v. William (2021)

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ONLY ONE ISSUE CAN ARISE FROM A GROUND OF APPEAL

It should, however, be noted that, Appellant had distilled their Issue one from grounds 1, 2 and 5 of the Grounds of the Appeal, and thereafter, distilled the Issue 3 (which the Respondent attacked, mistaking it for Issue 4) from the same ground one of the appeal. Appellants cannot do that, as it would amount to proliferation of issues. Having earlier used the ground one, together with grounds 2 and 5, to distill the issue one, the said ground one was no longer available to donate another issue for the determination of the appeal. We have held repeatedly, that a ground of appeal cannot be split to generate issues for determination, and that, once an issue has been distilled from a given ground of appeal, the said ground of appeal is no longer available to give birth to another issue for determination, either alone or in conjunction with other grounds of appeal. Where a ground of appeal has been used to formulate an issue for determination, using it again to formulate another issue will corrupt that other issue for determination and render it incompetent.

– Mbaba JCA. Aduba v. Aduba (2018)

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ISSUES ARE ARGUED NOT GROUNDS OF APPEAL

I think I ought to stress in the first place that it is the issues distilled from all appellant’s grounds of appeal that may be argued in the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court and not the grounds of appeal.

– Iguh, JSC. Oshatoba v. Olujitan (2000)

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