Facts:

The appellants are customers of the respondent. The respondent granted a facility of N6,000,000.00 (Six Million Naira) to the appellants in 1998. By December, 2001 the facility had accrued total interest of N4, 773,834.78 (Four Million, Seven Hundred and Seventy Three Thousand, Eight Hundred and Thirty Four Naira, Seventy Eight Kobo) and the total indebtedness stood at N10,773,834.78 (Ten Million, Seven Hundred and Seventy Three Thousand, Eight Hundred and Thirty Four Naira, Seventy Eight Kobo). The facility was not repaid and the respondent wrote to the appellants to demand for payment of the debt. The appellants replied and promised to pay back the loan and accrued interest and requested for extension of time. They however, failed to fulfil their promise and respondent filed a suit against them at the High Court of Lagos State via the summary judgment procedure.

After hearing the parties, the trial judge gave judgment in favour of the respondent. The appellants were dissatisfied and consequently filed a notice of appeal at the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division urging the court to set aside the judgment of the trial court. When the appeal came up for hearing, the court observed that the statement of claim was not signed by a legal practitioner but in the name of a law firm. Being a jurisdictional issue, the court invited parties to address it on the issue. Parties filed their written addresses on the issue.