Facts:

The administration of justice in Nigeria, owing to her legal and political history,is based on the doctrine of judicial precedents (of the authoritative and persuasive variety). As most practitioners know, the central support for the doctrine of precedents is the hierarchy of courts. Under this structure, intermediate courts treat decisions of the superior courts and particularly the Supreme Court as bindingauthority. The courts continue to strive for stare decisis et non quieta movere – to adhere to precedents and not to unsettle things which are established. In modernday practice, the industry of law reporting is now the indispensable ally of this hierarchical system of justice.