Constitutional Complications of the Jurisdiction of the Federal High Court

Abstract

 INTRODUCTION

Like the proverbial cat with nine lives, the controversy surrounding the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, vis-a-vis that of the States High Courts, which hitherto was laid to rest, has once again been resurrected by the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Created by the Federal High Court Act,¹ the Court was originally set up with limited jurisdiction over matters pertaining to the revenue of the Federation, taxation of companies, customs and excise duties, trade marks, copyrights, patents, designs, merchandise marks, admiralty and matters pertaining to the operation of the Companies and Allied Matters Act.² Unlike the wide jurisdiction vested in the States High Courts under the 1979 Constitution, this limited jurisdiction of the Federal High Court was itself not free from controversy.³