“The appellant in his reply brief cited the case of Okafor v. A.-G., Anambra State (1991) 6 NWLR (Pt. 200) 659 as authority that a judgment or order of court given without compliance with the rules of court is a breach of the right of fair hearing. This of course cannot be. Every case of non-compliance with the rules of court cannot possibly result in a breach of the right of fair hearing. The facts of the above authority are that the Court of Appeal in error gave a judgment earlier than the date indicated and without an oral hearing. The decision of the Supreme Court is that a judgment which is given without compliance with Rules of court and which non-compliance has breached a fundamental human right such as the right of fair hearing, is a nullity.”

The above reasoning of the learned Justice of the Court of Appeal is a sound one. Interestingly, in the instant case, the Court found that there was no breach of the rules of court by the trial Judge. That notwithstanding, the Court found it imperative to straighten any misconception in the principle laid down by the Supreme Court in Okafor v. A.-G., Anambra State.