Facts:

The appellant entered into an equipment lease finance facility with the respondent.
Following a dispute between the parties, the appellant filed a suit against the
respondent at the High Court of Lagos seeking declarative and other reliefs. In
the course of the proceedings, the respondent filed an application praying the
court for extension of time within which to file its defence. The application was
granted by the court. The respondent also filed another application in which
several reliefs were sought, one of which was an order for leave to amend by
substituting the respondent’s statement of defence and counter claim, list of
exhibits, respondent’s list of witnesses, and to be deemed as properly served.
The appellant reacted to the application by filing a counter affidavit and another
application seeking to set aside or void the decision of the court granting the
respondent extension of time to file its defence and counter claim deeming same
as properly filed. In his ruling, the trial judge held that the respondent’s applications
were improper and incurably bad and therefore set aside the order for the
extension of time. More importantly, the court struck out all the processes filed by
the respondent and declared them null and void.

The appellant was dissatisfied with the ruling of the trial court on the ground that
the proper order to have been made in the circumstance was a dismissal of the
application and not striking out and consequently filed a notice of appeal at the
Court of Appeal, Lagos Division. The sole issue adopted by the court as being
apt is whether the appropriate order of the court should have been a dismissal of
the application as against the order striking it out.