The 1st respondent has filed preliminary objection to the hearing of the appeals herein on a number of grounds the principle of which is that this court has the jurisdiction to entertain the appeals under the provisions of section 246(3) of the Constitution. The 1st respondent expatiated the objection in the respondent's brief while the appellant has filed the appellants reply brief in which he argued that this court has the competence to hear the appellants' appeals as filed in this court. Both senior learned counsels for the parties extensively addressed the court on their respective stands on the issues.