The Respondent was the Plaintiff in the High Court. The Appellant was the defendant. In an action filed at the Omoku High Court, Rivers State, the Respondent claimed the sum of N3,120,000.00 as special and general damages as a result of alleged wrongful and reckless acts of the Appellant in breaking and entering into the Respondent's farmland by cutting several seismic lines resulting in wanton destruction of the Respondent's cash/economic crops and trees, fish ponds, juju shrines and farm house.

In a motion dated 14th August, 1997, the Appellant urges the Court to strike out the action for want of Jurisdiction on the ground that "the claim as disclosed in the writ of summons, statement of claim and the reply to the statement of defence arose from the shooting of explosives and other geological survey activities in the course of oil exploration activities in the oil field."

The learned trial Judge did not take the issue of jurisdiction in his Ruling. He rather took a procedural matter outside the issue of jurisdiction. Although he came to the conclusion that 'the acts of the Defendant that caused the Plaintiff to launch this claim are acts which relate to geological survey activities," he stopped there and dealt with whether the proviso to Order 24 Rule 2 of the High Court Rules 1987 of Rivers State was complied with in the motion. The Judge came to the conclusion that the proviso was not complied with. He dismissed the motion for non-compliance.

Not satisfied with the Ruling, the Appellant went to the Court of Appeal. That Court allowed the appeal and remitted the case to the trial Judge for him to determine the question of jurisdiction raised therein. The Court said at page 81 of the Record: