"With due respect to the learned counsel for the Appellant, he appeared to have totally ignored the point here deliberately or otherwise but that does not alter the facts or reality on ground. A cursory examination of the Notice of Appeal originating this appeal reveals on the face thereof that it was filed on the 21st December, 2012 against a judgment delivered on the 14th February, 2012. In other words, the appeal was filed about 312 days after the judgment being appealed against was delivered.

Section 24 of the Court of Appeal Act provides thus: 24. Time for Appealing (1) Where a person desires to appeal to the Court of Appeal, he shall give notice of appeal or notice of his application for leave to appeal in such manner as may be directed by rules of Court within the period prescribed by the provision of Subsection (2) of this section that is applicable to the case. (2) The periods for the giving of notice of appeal or notice of application for leave to appeal are - (a) in an appeal in a civil cause or matter, fourteen days where the appeal is against an interlocutory decision and three months where the appeal is against a final decision; (b) in an appeal in a criminal cause or matter, ninety days from the date of the decision appealed against. (3) Where an application for leave to appeal is made in the first instance to the Court below, a person making such application shall, in addition to the period prescribed by Subsection (2) of this section, be allowed a further period of fifteen days, from the date of the determination of the application by the Court below, to make another application to the Court of Appeal. (4) The Court of Appeal may extend the periods prescribed in Subsections (2) and (3) of this section. That an appellant for sundry reasons was unable to appeal within the specified periods in Section 24 (1)-(3) above does not totally shut him out as sub (4) provides an outlet. Such an appellant only needs to approach the Court of Appeal for an extension of time which may be granted subject to the extant applicable legal principles. See NGERE VS OKURUKET '1V' (2014) 58 NSCQR 113, CHIME VS ONWUEGBU (2013) 55 NSCQR 261 and ABUBAKAR AUDU VS WADA (2012) 52 NSCQR 204.

The Appellant herein was way outside the time limited for him to appeal against the final judgment here and failed to obtain an extension of time pursuant to Section 24 (4) of the Court of Appeal Act as outlined above thereby rendering the entire appeal incompetent and incapable of activating the jurisdiction of the Court."

Per OYEWOLE, J.C.A. IN ASUQUO v. WILLIAM CITATION: (2018) LPELR-44045(CA)