TITLE OF THE ARTICLE: Service of Court Processes on Companies: NBC Plc v Uzuoma Ubani and Mark & Anor. v Eke Revisited
AUTHORS:
BENSON ’DELE OLOWORARAN LL.M., BL, Principal partner in the Port
UCHECHUKWU E. OLOWORARAN, LL.M., BL, Director, Institute of Human Capacity Development and Continuing Education, Port Harcourt.
ABSTRACT
This paper considers the relevant Supreme Court cases on the issue of service of court processes on companies and in addition probes into the precedential relevance of the apparently contradictory decisions in Mark v Eke and NBC Plc v Ubani on the subject. The paper considers the doctrinal basis of treating a decision as a judicial precedent and presents the view that although the case of Mark & Anor. v Eke made far reaching pronouncements on how and where service could be effected on companies, the relevant observations in that case do not constitute the ratio decidendi of the case and could at best be regarded as obiter dicta.