Facts:

Facts:

The appellants filed a suit against the 1st respondent at the High Court of Lagos State for among other reliefs, a declaration that the statutory right of occupancy over a piece of land described in a deed of lease and registered at the Federal Lands Registry, Ikoyi, Lagos belongs to the 1st appellant. The defendant responded to the suit by filing its defence and in addition, a motion seeking to join the 2nd respondent since its claim to the land in dispute was derived through the 2nd respondent. The 1st respondent also challenged the jurisdiction of the court to hear and determine the matter. The court however, struck out the objection and held that it had jurisdiction. The court also struck out the 1st respondent application to join the 2nd respondent. The 1st respondent was dissatisfied with the rulings of the court and consequently filed two appeals at the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, one challenging the court’s decision on jurisdiction and the other challenging the court’s ruling on the joinder of the 2nd respondent. The Court of appeal in its separate decisions, allowed the appeal of the 1st respondent concerning the joinder of the 2nd respondent in the suit, while dismissing the appeal challenging the ruling of the court concerning its jurisdiction. The decisions of the Court of Appeal were complied with by the parties and the trial court and consequently, the parties amended their pleadings.

The 2nd respondent having been joined by the order of the Court of Appeal, filed its own notice of preliminary objection challenging the jurisdiction of the trial court to hear and determine the matter on grounds bordering mainly on the fact that the 2nd respondent is an agency of the Federal Government and as such only the Federal High Court has jurisdiction to hear and determine the matter. The trial court heard the preliminary objection and after considering the arguments of the parties delivered a bench ruling in which it allowed the application of the 2nd respondent and dismissed the suit of the appellant on the ground that the joinder of the 2nd respondent had changed the status of the suit and that the Federal High Court was the court with requisite jurisdiction to hear the matter. The appellants were aggrieved and filed a notice of Appeal at the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division challenging the ruling of the trial court and praying the court to reverse same.

One of the issues distilled for determination is whether the trial court was right in declining jurisdiction over the matter merely because of the joinder of the 2nd respondent in spite of an earlier decision of the court between the parties affirming the subject matter of the suit as falling under the jurisdiction of the State High Court and not the Federal High Court.