SUPREME COURT OF NIGERIA’S CASE JUDGMENT REVIEW: ESENOWO Vs UKPONG & MOBIL PRODUCING NIGERIA (1999) LPELR-1166 (SC)

Abstract

Some scholars and authors make comments on judgments of superior courts on reading the ratio decidendi without reading the facts or the entire judgment to decipher the reasons behind the judgments. This is one of such cases where, on the surface of it or after glancing through an online review, one may shout blue murder and exclaim, ‘why did the court fall into this technicality trap’ and that is the research problem. Doctrinal research methodology was applied wherein the law report that contained the case was studied. The crux of the matter is that a medical doctor got angered by the fact that when he applied for reimbursement concerning a patient he treated in his hospital with a document he signed as Dr E.J Esonowo, the respondent on checking the register of medical doctors as prepared by the Nigerian Medical Council, did not see Dr E.J Esonowo on the list and based on that, minuted to another staff in the organization that the name did not exist among the medical doctors as contained in the Nigerian Medical Council’s register of doctors and therefore that the reimbursement should not be paid. There was however a name; Dr J.E Esonowo on the register. Dr Esonowo felt infuriated and sued both Dr I.Ukpong who sent out the minute and Mobil Producing Nigeria, for libel. A simple as the case appeared, it went from High Court up to the Supreme Court wherein the appeal of Dr Esonowo was dismissed as the Supreme Court held that there is a big difference between Dr E.J Esonowo and Dr J.E Esonowo. This work found that there was no resort to alternative dispute resolution which would have solved the problem in the beginning and that the matter which lasted for 15 years could have been solved if the appellant exercised a little patience to confirm the veracity of what the respondent wrote. It recommends alternative dispute resolution and exercise of patience to verify a matter before suing, that people should generally follow the rules on writing of names and that there should be quicker dispensation of justice by Nigerian courts.