CONSTITUTIONAL LAW - FAIR HEARING: Determinant of Fair hearing:

"A hearing can only be fair when all the parties to the dispute are given a hearing or an opportunity of a hearing. If one of the parties is refused a hearing or not given an opportunity to be heard, the hearing cannot qualify as fair hearing."

When the appellants were not heard before their appeal was dismissed they were not by any stretch of imagination given a hearing let alone fair hearing by the court below. It is indeed trite law that a party who will be affected by the result of a judicial enquiry must be given opportunity of being heard, otherwise the action taken following the inquiry will be unconstitutional and illegal".

Per. Onu J.S.C.  in Ogundoyin v. Adeyemi (2001) 13 NWLR (Pt.730) 403