Facts:

The 1st respondent (Judgement Creditor/garnishor) through an exparte application made to the trial court (National Industrial Court) obtained an order nisi to recover the liquidated sum of N10,054,439.5K (Ten Million, Fifty-Four Thousand, Four Hundred and Thirty-Nine Naira Five Kobo). The trial court further directed the order nisi to be served on the judgment debtor (2nd respondent) and the appellant/garnishee respectively.

The appellant as the garnishee at the trial court, by way of preliminary objection, challenged the jurisdiction of the court below to entertain the garnishee proceedings on the ground that Order VIII rule 2 of the Judgment (Enforcement) Rules was not followed, and that the garnishee/applicant is a Federal Government Agency, and at such, section 251(d)(p)(q) & (r) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, confers exclusive jurisdiction to the Federal High Court to adjudicate on any matter where a garnishee applicant is a party. The appellant also contended that the condition precedent before initiating proceedings in any court against the garnishee were not followed, and the conditions as outlined by the Sheriffs and Civil Process Act, was not adhered to.

The appellant’s application was heard and dismissed by the trial court. Aggrieved by the decision of the trial court, the appellant/garnishee appealed to the Court of Appeal.