The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division has struck out an appeal challenging the decision of a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, holding that the case was fundamentally defective and incompetent.
Delivering the unanimous judgment of a three-member panel of Justices of the court on Wednesday, Justice Okon Abang ruled that the appeal, filed by two legal practitioners, failed to meet mandatory procedural requirements and could not invoke the jurisdiction of the appellate court.
The appeal originated from a decision of the Abuja High Court delivered on October 16, 2025, in which the trial judge dismissed an application seeking his recusal from ongoing criminal proceedings.
The applicants, Maxwell Opara and Gold Nwankwo, both lawyers had asked the trial judge to recuse himself from the matter over alleged bias, personal interest, and hostility by the judge during proceedings in the matter.
The trial court, while dismissing the application held that, the application for the trial judge to withdraw from the trial was baseless and lacking in merits.
Dissatisfied with that ruling, the appellants filed a joint notice of appeal.
However, the first respondent, identified as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) raised a preliminary objection, arguing that the appeal was incompetent.
In its judgment, the appellate court upheld the objection and held that the appeal arose from an interlocutory decision involving mixed questions of law and fact, “As such, the appellants were required to obtain prior leave of either the trial court or the Court of Appeal before filing the appeal”.
Justice Abang held that, their failure to do so within the constitutionally prescribed timeframe rendered the notice of appeal invalid.
The court also faulted the filing of a joint notice of appeal by two appellants in a criminal matter, emphasizing that, under the Court of Appeal Rules, each appellant must file a separate notice of appeal, describing the joint filing as “unknown to criminal appellate practice.
“The non-compliance is not a mere technicality but a fundamental breach,” the court held and added that an incompetent notice of appeal cannot activate appellate jurisdiction.
The court further criticized the appellants, both of whom are lawyers, for failing to adhere to basic procedural rules, describing the appeal as a “reckless abuse of judicial process”.
On the whole, the court held that, the appeal is incompetent, cannot be redeemed and consequently struck it out in its entirety and also awarded a cost of N500,000 against the appellants in favour of the EFCC.
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