Facts:

The appellant was a customer to the respondent, a commercial bank. It also maintained a current account with the respondent’s Aba branch, situate at No. 38B St. Michael Road, Aba. The respondent granted certain credit facilities to the appellant to be repaid at a certain time. The appellant’s indebtedness to the respondent as at 3rd April, 2002 was put at Twenty Five Million, Nine Hundred and Forty One Thousand, Three Hundred and Eight Naira, Forty One Kobo (N25,941,308.41). The appellant admitted this indebtedness in its letter dated 21st December, 2001, but instituted an action against the respondent on the 16th of April, 2002 at the High Court of Abia State in suit No. A/148/2002 seeking for some reliefs.

The respondent filed its statement of defence on 20th May, 2002, and thereafter on the 29th of June, 2002 filed a petition at the Federal High Court, Umuahia, praying the court to wind up the appellant in suit No. FHC/UM/CP/1/2002. At paragraph 5 of the said petition, the respondent averred as follows:

“The company is indebted to your humble petitioner in the sum of N25,941,308.41 (Twenty Five Million, Nine Hundred and Forty One Thousand, Three Hundred and Eight Naira, Forty One Kobo) at the close of business on 03:04:2002 with interest continuing to accrue thereupon at the rate of 38% per annum.”

Being served with the petition, the appellant filed a motion at the Federal High Court, Umuahia on the 1st of July 2002 where it sought for the dismissal of the winding up petition in suit No. FHC/UM/CP/1/2002 on the ground that the petition was an abuse of court process. It also annexed to the motion, the writ of summons, statement of claim and statement of defence which were filed in Suit No. A/143/2002. The respondent also filed a counter affidavit. Upon hearing the motion the trial court ruled that the reliefs sought in Suit No. A/148/2002 relate to the same subject matter of the petition for winding up of the appellant, and allowing the two suits to run simultaneously will amount to a multiplicity of actions involving the same parties and the same subject matter. The trial court struck out the respondent’s petition for being an abuse of court process but made no order was as to costs.

The appellant appealed to the Court of Appeal being dissatisfied with the decision of the trial court striking out the petition instead of dismissing it and for the court’s failure to award costs in the circumstance. The respondent also filed a cross-appeal against the order striking out its petition. The Court of Appeal heard the appeal and cross-appeal. In a judgment delivered on the 8th November, 2004, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appellant’s appeal and allowed the respondent’s cross-appeal. It ordered that the petition be remitted to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for assignment to another Judge in the Umuahia Judicial Division of the court. It also awarded costs of N5,000.00 in favour of the respondent and against the appellant.

The appellant again dissatisfied with the decision of the lower court, appealed to the Supreme Court where it sought to determine whether the Court of Appeal was right when it held that the respondent’s petition for winding up is distinct from the appellant’s suit at the High Court, and as such did not constitute an abuse of court process.