JURISDICTION: THE NEW DIMENTION UNDER THE LAND USE ACT: ALHAJI BAKIN SALATI VS. ALHAJI SHEHU (1986) 1 N. W. L. R. PART 197 - PAGE 119

In the areas of procedural law, the issue of jurisdiction counts very much in deciding where a matter or case is to be heard. Jurisdiction is an indicator to a place where a course or action is to be intertained for the purpose of giving a legal rule. This means that certain matters, cases, causes or actions must be heard in one particular court or type of courts. Usualy, matters of jursdiction arise as preliminary issues which need to be settled before substantive hearing is commenced. It is often fatal to leave issues of preliminary nature unsettled or unheard before hearing of substantive action. Agood advocate can always win a case by raising matters of preliminiary nature like jurisdiction at the onset of the case. This may cause embarrassment tothe opposing party, no matter the good advocacy reputation and long standing experience the opposing party has.