Keywords
Affidavit
Abstract
The Sherriff and Civil Process Act, ought to be a law that
simplifies enforcement of judgments delivered by a competent
courts. However, some of its provisions appear to complicate
enforcement of judgements. One of such provisions is section 83(1)
of the Sherriff and Civil Processes Act, which states to the effect
that a lawyer must personally depose to an affidavit
accompanying Motion Ex parte for enforcement of judgements.
This raises the question as to whether failure to comply with that
requirement, affects the enforcement of such judgement. Equally,
does that section mandating a lawyer of the Applicant to depose
to an affidavit in Motion Ex Parte accords with Nigerian laws? It
is the response to these questions that gives birth to this article.
Thus, the aim of this article is to show that literal and strict
application of this section will deny successful parties access to
justice. Similarly, the role of lawyers in deposing to affidavits on
behalf of their clients, conflicts with the Rules of Professional
Ethics. In this article, the writers used doctrinal sources such as
statutes, case laws, books, and journals. This work hopes to
inspire policy formulation and legislative reform.