Mrs. Veronica Nneka Ugbah & 2 ORS (Appellants) And Mr. Patrick Iwebunor Ugbah (Respondent)

Facts

1^st Appellant and the Respondent were married under Igbo Native Law and Custom and subsequently contracted a statutory marriage. The 2^nd and 3^rd Appellants are children of the marriage. The Appellants alleged that the Respondent subjected them to intolerable conduct, including physical and emotional abuse, despite several interventions by members of the Respondent’s family aimed at resolving the disputes between the parties. It was alleged further that the Respondent sent the Appellants out of the matrimonial home, while undertaking to provide financial support for their welfare and maintenance. The Respondent subsequently failed to fulfil this undertaking. The 1^st Appellant made several complaints to the Respondent’s family, his employers at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, the Lagos State Child Development and Welfare Agency, the Lagos Office of the Public Defender, the Parish Priest of St. Dominic Catholic Church, the Catholic Marriage Tribunal, and the Lagos State Chapter of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA). The Appellants contended that the Respondent ignored all attempts at settlement and reconciliation, leaving the 1^st Appellant solely responsible for the welfare and upkeep of herself and the children. Consequently, the Appellants commenced an action against the Respondent at the High Court of Lagos State by way of a Writ of Summons and Statement of Claim pursuant to the High Court of Lagos State (Civil Procedure) Rules.

Upon being served with the originating processes, the Respondent filed a Notice of Preliminary Objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court on the ground that the suit had not been commenced by due process. The Respondent argued that since the claims related to maintenance and welfare arising from a marital relationship and paternal obligations, the action ought to have been commenced pursuant to the Matrimonial Causes Act by way of Petition, rather than by Writ of Summons under the High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules. The trial court dismissed the preliminary objection, holding that the claims before it did not constitute matrimonial causes within the meaning of Section 114 of the Matrimonial Causes Act (MCA), as the 1^st Appellant was not seeking dissolution of the marriage or any other matrimonial relief contemplated under the Act. The court held further that the Appellants were entitled, under the Constitution and the Child Rights Act, to approach the court for reliefs relating to maintenance and welfare, and that the action was therefore properly commenced.

Dissatisfied with the ruling, the Respondent appealed to the Court of Appeal, which allowed the appeal, holding that the claims for maintenance, education, and welfare are reliefs contemplated under the MCA and the Matrimonial Causes Rules (MCR), and that such proceedings ought to have been commenced by Petition. Aggrieved by the decision of the Court of Appeal, the Appellants appealed to the Supreme Court.