Where a Court lacks the requisite jurisdiction to entertain a suit, the proceedings are and remain a nullity however well conducted and brilliantly decided they might otherwise have been on grounds that a defect in competence is not intrinsic but extrinsic to adjudication. [1] Jurisdiction is the authority a Court has to decide matters before it or take cognizance of issues presented in a formal way for decisions. [2] Jurisdiction can be classified into territorial, subject matter, and personal jurisdiction. A court’s jurisdiction is established by law, and granted by both the Constitution and the statute that creates the court.[3] This forms the very basis for any legal proceeding, serving as the pillar upon which
every part of the judicial process is built.[4] Without this jurisdiction, no matter how properly a proceeding is conducted, it is entirely invalid.[5]Therefore, the courts have consistently emphasized that jurisdiction must be resolved before delving into the substantive matter of a case. In The Attorney General of Lagos State v. The Hon. Justice L.J. Dosunmu, it was stated per Honourable Justice Oputa J.S.C.(as he then was) that:[6]“When a court’s jurisdiction is challenged, I think it is neater and far better to settle the issue one way or another before proceeding to the hearing of the case on its merits. The reason is that jurisdiction is a radical and crucial question of competence”…….
LOCAL GOVERNMENT FISCAL AUTONOMY THE LONG ROAD TO VICTORY, VIS-A-VIS THE POTENTIAL ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL IMPACT
