"At this point you will permit me, to refer to Order 3 Rule 2 (1); Order 45 Rule 6 and such other relevant rules of the High Court referred to by counsel in this matter. It can be recalled that it was counsel for the appellant who argued that by reason of Order 45 Rule 6 any pleading (whether Statement of Claim or Statement of defence) filed in Court should all stop running from the period the High Court proceeded on vacation. He argued that this provision equally apply to the Writ of Summons since the Writ of Summons and Statement of Claim are inseparable processes when it comes to the commencement of actions in the Court. Order 3 Rule 2 (a) - (d) provides thus:"(1) All Civil proceedings commenced by Writ of Summons shall be accompanied by: (a) Statement of claim. (b) List of witnesses to be called at the trial. (c) Written Statement of Oath of the witnesses and (d) Copies of every document to be relied on at the trial..." Documents listed as (a) - (d) above are meant to accompany the Writ of Summons only. Those documents do not commence the suit to which they relate. It is the Writ of Summons and the Writ only that Commences the action. It follows therefore that it is the Writ of Summons that remains the only method by which civil action are commenced by the Writ. This submission is verifiable: Order 1 Rule 2 defines "Court process" or "Process" to include "Wit of Summons, Originating Summons, Originating process, notices, petitions, pleadings, Order, Motions Summons, Warrants and all documents or written communication of which service is required." In the computation of time under Order 45 Rule 6, time begins to run only in relation to pleadings and not the Writ of Summons or other processes of Court. Time does not stop running in relation to actions commenced by way of Writ of Summons merely because the High Court or the Judge of the High Court was on vacation. Order 45 Rule 6 of the High Court (Civil Procedure) rules of Anambra State provides thus:"The time for filing and service of pleadings shall not run during the annual vacation unless otherwise directed by the Judge." It is a canon of interpretation that: Expressio unius est exclusion alterius, meaning, to express one thing implies the exclusion of the other. Any other Process of Court hence actions commenced by way of the Writ of Summons cannot stop running. Under Order 45 Rule 6 specific mention is made of the filing and service of pleadings only and not the Writ of Summons or any other Process of Court hence actions commenced by way of Writ of Summons cannot stop running merely because the High Court was on vacation. It is not the legislative intent of the draftsmen that the period of vacation of the High Court is a "Public of Holiday" as claimed by the appellant. It is not so expressly provided for by the rules of the High Court of Anambra State hence counsel and litigants alike should be wary in reading meanings into words or provisions which otherwise are clear and such provisions should be accorded their ordinary, natural grammatical meaning and interpretation. See: Olatunde Vs. O.A.U (1998) 5 NWLR (Pt. 549) 178; Osunde Vs. Federal Republic of Nigeria (2000) 12 NWLR (Pt. 682)483. In any case, the period of the annual vacation of the High Court is not reckoned with by the Public Holiday, Act, Cap 378, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria as a "public holiday."Section 1 of the said Act provides: "1. The days mentioned in the schedule to this Act shall be kept as Public Holidays throughout Nigeria." The schedule to the Section then lists the following days as public holidays, to Wit: (1) New Year's day (2) Good Friday (3) Easter Monday (4)Workers day (May), (5) National Day (1st October), (6) Christmas day (9) such day as the Minister may declare to be public holiday in celebration of the Muslim festival of Id el Kabir. (9) such day as the Minister may declare to be a public holiday in celebration of the birth day of Prophet Mohammed (Id el Maulud). Section 2 of the Act states as follows:"(1) In addition to the days mentioned in the Schedule to this Act, the President may by public notice appoint a special day to be kept as [public holiday] either throughout Nigeria or in any part thereof, and any day so appointed shall be kept as a public holiday. (2) Subject to Section 1 of this Act and sub-section of this section, the Governor of a State may by public notice appoint a special day to be kept as a public holiday in the state concerned or in any part thereof, and any day so appointed shall be kept as public holiday." Those days declared as "Public Holidays" are work free days. The period of vacation for Judges of the High Court of Anambra State or any state at all is not so expressly mentioned in the Act as a "public holiday" and there is nothing before us to suggest that the Governor of Anambra State has by a proclamation or order made the vacation period of the High Court of Anambra State, a public holiday. See decisions in Anie Vs. Uzorka (1993) NWLR (Pt. 309) 1 or (1993) 9 SC NJ 223 and Daramola Vs. Aribisala (2009) LPELR - 8515 (CA). It follows that in the computation of time for the purpose of determining the time limited by the Action Law of Anambra State, days like, Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays are excluded in the computation of time. See, Anambra State High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, Order 44 Rule 1 (b) (2), Section 15 (5) of the Interpretation Act, Ajayi vs. Owolabi (2009) LPELR -3672(CA)."

Per HUSSAINI, J.C.A.In UBA v. OKOLIE CITATION: (2018) LPELR-45082(CA)