The Federal High Court

The Federal High Court (Federal Revenue Court as it then was) was established by the Federal Revenue Act 1973 (1973 No.13). The Court was renamed the “Federal High Court” by Section 228 (1) and 230 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1979. It is essentially a Commercial Court

The Judges of the Federal High Court are appointed by the President on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council. The Federal High Court is headed by a Chief Judge. The Chief Judge is accountable to the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the National Judicial Council as the case may be.

The Federal High Court has extensive and exclusive jurisdiction in the handling of commercial matters as a court of first instance. The jurisdiction of the Federal High Court includes but not limited to: issues of revenue of the Government of the Federation, taxation of companies and bodies amenable to Federal taxation, matters connected to customs and excise, banking, banks and other financial institution, operation of the provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, copyright, patent, designs, trademarks, industrial designs, admiralty jurisdiction, citizenship, intellectual property, immigration and emigration, aviation, arms and explosives, mines and minerals, drugs and poisons and the administration, management and control of the Federal Government of Nigeria or any of its agencies. Appeals from the Federal High Court lie (as of right and in other cases with leave) to the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of Nigeria.

The State High Courts

The State High Courts also exercise commercial jurisdiction in some of the matters above but their jurisdiction is limited to; Matters of arbitration, matters of customer-banker relationships, matters that do not touch on Federal Government agencies and matters not within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal High Court.

The Federal High Court has jurisdiction covering the whole of Nigeria and has divisions in all the states of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is a feature of the Federal High Court that Judges deals with all case management, interim hearings, and trials. The practice and procedure of the Federal High Court is contained in the Federal High Court Civil Procedure Rules 2009. This was made by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to provide basic rules for achieving the set goals and duties expected from the Federal High Court in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended.