"Order 15 Rule 3 (1) of the Lagos State High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2004, provides that "In all cases in which the party pleading relies on any misrepresentation, fraud, breach of trust, willful default, or undue influence and in all other cases, in which particulars may be necessary, particulars (with dates and items if necessary) shall be stated in the pleadings". Order 15 Rule 7(2) of the same Rules provides that "Where a party raises any ground which makes a transaction void or voidable or such matters as fraud, Limitation Law, release, payment, performance, facts showing insufficiency in contract or illegality either by any enactment or by common law, he shall specifically plead same." If the case of the appellant was that the judgments were not authentic thus making the attachment and sale of the land void it should have specifically pleaded the same with particulars of the inauthenticity. Having not done so, it follows that the authenticity of the judgments and their execution were not in issue at the trial Court and the respondents were not under any obligation to produce the judgments, defend their authenticity or prove the regularity of their execution. The object of pleadings is for each party to give notice to his opponent with clarity and precision of the case he has to meet.

See Mbanefo v. Molokwu (2014) 6 NWLR (Pt. 1403) 377, 418 and Noibi v. Fikolati (1987) 3 SC 105. The appellant did not challenge the authenticity of the judgments and their execution either clearly and precisely or at all as required by the law. It cannot seek to do so in this appeal as a party is not allowed to set up or maintain on appeal a different case from that which he presented at the trial Court. He must be consistent in stating his case. See Adegoke Motors Ltd. v. Adesanya (1989) 3 (Pt. 109) 250, Econet Wireless (Nig.) Ltd v. Econet Wireless Ltd. (2014) 7 NWLR (Pt. 1405) 1, 25 and Registered Trustees, AON v. NAMA (2014) 8 NWLR (Pt. 1408) 1, 37-38. Furthermore, the fact that it was pleaded in paragraph 6 of the second amended statement of claim that attempts to obtain copies of the judgment proved abortive and that there was no record of such judgments did not amount to challenging the authenticity of the judgments."

Per EKANEM, J.C.A. IN HAPPY LAND HAPPY WORLD LTD v. UNION BANK & ORS CITATION: (2017) LPELR-43564(CA)