AN ASSESSMENT OF CONSTITUTIONALITY OF THE ESTABLISHMENT AND JURISDICTIONAL COMPETENCE OF SPECIAL TRIBUNAL ESTABLISHED UNDER BOFIA, 2020

Abstract

The Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria confers exclusive jurisdiction on Federal High Court in banks and banking related matters among others. Thus, the Constitution which is the grundnorm excludes all other courts and tribunals from entertaining matters exclusively donated to the Federal High Court. Whereas, BOFIA, 2020 established a special tribunal and vested it with jurisdiction to enforce and recover eligible loans by financial services banks, specialized banks or other financial institutions or matters pertaining to or connected with enforcement or recovery of eligible loan. The jurisdiction confers on the tribunal by the Act indisputably borders on banks and banking related matters. Hence, this research set out to examine the constitutionality of the establishment and jurisdiction confers on the tribunal. In carrying out the task, the article adopted doctrinal method of research. It subjected relevant provision of the Constitution and that of the BOFIA, 2020 to legal analysis. The article found that the establishment and jurisdiction confers on the tribunal is constitutional. It however argued that conferring the tribunal with powers of superior court of record is unconstitutional.

Keywords: Constitutionality, Jurisdiction, Tribunal, Banking and BOFIA