Garnishee Proceedings and the Position of the Court in Nigeria: A Settled Law or Whirling Controversy?

Abstract

The position of law in Nigeria today on garnishee proceeding is not totally settled on the right of the judgment debtor to be heard in a garnishee proceedings and whether an application for stay of execution can stop the filing and further commencement of garnishee proceeding in any competent law court in Nigeria. What is clear is that garnishee proceeding is a special type of court proceeding with special procedure unlike the other modes of institution of legal action in court. This article examines the position of the law today by considering the various judgments of the court of the right of a judgment debtor to be heard and the arguments in favour and against the right of audience of a judgment debtor vis-à-vis the statutory provisions on fair hearing and garnishee proceedings.