Endorsed on the writ of summons issued out of the registry of the High Court of Justice Rivers State, sitting at Port Harcourt on 5 March 2010 are the respondents (the claimant) claims against the appellant, then defendant:

The facts are apparent from the claims. There is no useful purpose in repeating them. The claims are reproduced as paragraph 2(i), (ii), (iii) of the statement of claim. The respondent as plaintiff also filed a written statement on oath of its Managing Director, Mr. Viswanathan Ramachandran in which the claims were repeated. Also filed was a list of documents to be relied on by the claimant, as well as the elaborate master services agreement entered into by the parties.

Exhibit A is the proof that the writ of summons, the statement of claim and other processes filed by the respondent as plaintiff were duly served on the appellant as defendant on 26 March 2010.

The defendant (appellant) failed or neglected to enter appearance or file any process in reaction to the processes served on it by the respondent.

On 8 June 2010, the respondent as plaintiff filed a motion, pursuant to Order 20, Rule 9, Order 39, Rule 1 of High Court of Rivers State (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2006, asking for:

An order entering judgment in favour of this claimant/applicant in terms with its writ of summons and statement of claim, the defendant/respondent having failed/refused to file its statement of defence and other processes within the time limited by the rules.

The motion was supported by an affidavit of 10 paragraphs deposed to by one Loveday Bagbi, the Litigation Secretary in the Law firm of Uche Wali & Co., solicitors to the claimant. It was also accompanied by a written address.

On 29 September, 2010, the learned trial judge granted the application and awarded the claimant the sum of Twenty Thousand US Dollars ($20,000) as being the money spent by the claimant in bringing Mr. Raja Kumar to Nigeria to work for the defendant as well as the sum of five hundred thousand US Dollars ($500,000) being payment due to the claimant by the defendant for five years of the contract of skilled labour of Mr. Raja Kumar supplied by the claimant to the defendant. The Court also awarded the sum of Five Million US Dollars ($5,000,000) to the claimant against the defendant for breach of contract, as well as the sum of N35,000.00 (Thirty-five thousand naira) as costs in favour of the claimant.

Dissatisfied, the appellant appealed to the Court of Appeal which struck out the appellant's motion filed on 11 March, 2013 for extension of time to appeal and stay of execution of the judgment of the trial Court, the application having been withdrawn.

On the same date – 11th March 2013 - the Court of Appeal granted the application for trinity reliefs filed on 30 May 2013. Pursuant to the trinity reliefs granted to it, appellant prepared a notice of appeal. The parties duly filed and exchanged briefs of argument.

On 16 April 2014, the Court below struck out the appeal "for being incompetent as there was no evidence that the appellant paid any fee for the filing of the appeal."

Aggrieved by the judgment, the appellant further appealed to the Supreme Court.