Jurisdiction is a household and fundamental issue that must first be considered and decided upon before a Court can proceed with the hearing of any action before it. The Court of Appeal in Dec Oil & Gas V S.N.G Ltd, defined jurisdiction as the authority and power of the court to determine a dispute submitted to it by the contending parties.

The implication of the above pronouncement is that jurisdiction is the foundation upon which every action is built upon. It is the pillar of every matter before the court and if taken away, the matter amounts to nothing. The Courts have through a plethora of judicial precedents laid

down the indices for the ascertainment of the jurisdiction of a Court, and these include:

1. The court being properly constituted concerning the numbers and qualification of the Bench;
2. The subject matter of the case being within its jurisdiction and there is no feature in the case which prevents the court from exercising its jurisdiction; and
3. The case came before the court initiated by due processes and relevant conditions precedent were fulfilled

As has been earlier remarked, jurisdiction is the life and blood of any litigation and proceedings held in the absence of jurisdiction amount to nullity. To this end, the issue of jurisdiction must  always be resolved at the earliest to obviate futile acts/ proceedings. A major point of note is

that notwithstanding the prominence and importance of jurisdiction, occasionally, the law may appear unsettled on the question of the appropriate judicial or quasi-judicial bodies seised with jurisdiction over certain matters. This is perhaps since lawsuits may be characterised by several elements, some of which may be the basis for several plausible arguments as to the which Court is empowered to adjudicate over a matter.

One of the controversial areas is the issue of ascertaining the expansive jurisdiction of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, especially where it intersects with subjects that traditionally is known to be within the jurisdictional competence of other Courts of coordinate jurisdiction. In recent times, there has been some sort of controversy as to the jurisdiction of the National Industrial Court vis-à-vis admiralty disputes, land disputes etc.