The Supreme Court has okayed an appeal filed by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) against a judgment of the Appeal Court transferring a case to the Federal High Court (FHC).
The Court of Appeal in Lagos, in its consequential order, had directed a Lagos State High Court to transfer a suit filed by two claimants against NIMASA and three others to the FHC for accelerated hearing and determination.
The appellate court held that the Lagos court had no jurisdiction to entertain the suit.
Dissatisfied with the appellate court judgment, NIMASA approached the Supreme Court for proper interpretation.
The regulatory agency named the claimants; the Integrated Oil and Gas Ltd and its Chairman, Cap. Emmanuel Ihenacho (rtd.), a former Minister of Interior, as 1st and 2nd respondents in the appeal.
In its appellant’s brief filed by Chief Emeka Ngige, SAN, NIMASA argued that Section 15 of Court of Appeal Act which the Appeal Court relied on was wrongly invoked as the trial Lagos State High Court lacked powers to transfer a matter to the Federal High Court.
The agency argued that there was no provision in the High Court Law which empower the trial court to transfer cases in which it lacks jurisdiction to the Federal High Court.
It submitted that while FHC could make an order transferring a matter in which it lacked jurisdiction to a state high court based on Section 22(2) of the Federal High Court Act (as amended), the latter court cannot make the same order of transfer under Section 22(3) of the Act.
On their part, the 1st and 2nd respondents, represented by Emmanuel Ekpenyong of the law firm of Fred-Young & Evans LP, urged the apex court to determine whether the court below rightly invoked the provisions in contest.
Ekpenyong, who prayed the court to dismiss the appeal, inter alia, submitted that Section 15 of the Court of Appeal Act vests the court below with the power to make any order in ensuring matters are determined on their merit.
“The consequential order made by the Court of Appeal was pursuant to its powers under Section 15 of its Act,” he said.
A five-panel member of the apex court, in a unanimous judgement delivered by Justice Moore Adumein, set aside the Appeal Court decision.
Although the apex court judgment was delivered on April 17, its certified true copy was sighted on Friday in Abuja.
The panel held that what the appellate court ought to have done was to strike out the suit, having found that the High Court of Lagos State had no jurisdiction to hear the suit.
“It should be noted that the general principle of law is that where a court lacks jurisdiction to entertain a cause or matter, the appropriate or proper order to make is to strike it out.
“It also is settled that the Federal High Court has the competence to transfer a cause or matter to a High Court of a state or the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja by virtue of Section 22 (2) of the Federal High Court Act (as amended).
“On the other hand, the High Court of a state, like the High Court of Lagos State, cannot transfer a cause or matter to the Federal High Court, where it has no jurisdiction to entertain it.
“And it has no rule of procedure which enables it to transfer the action, cause, matter or suit to the Federal High Court,” the apex court held.
The claimants; the Integrated Oil and Gas Ltd and the ex-minister had filed the suit marked: LD/ADR/91/2013 at the Lagos State High Court.
They named NIMASA, Ziakade Patrick Akpobolokemi, Barrister Callistus Nwabueze Obi and Hajia Lami Tumaka as 1st to 4th defendants respectively, and demanded N90 billion, N349 million in damages.
The claimants also sought an order of injunction compelling the defendants to publish a retraction and an apology on NIMASA’s website, Guardian, Thisday and Punch Newspapers over the arrest of the former minister and allegations of oil theft and involvement in illegal oil dealings against the company.
But the defendants filed statements of defence and preliminary objections challenging the competence of the suit.
NIMASA, in its objection, argued that the suit ought to be struck out because the Lagos High Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit, and it was an abuse of court process in the light of pendency of another suit, marked: FHC/L/1177/2012, at Federal High Court in Lagos.
But Justice S.B.A Candide-Johnson of the Lagos State High Court dismissed the objection.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, NIMASA approached a Lagos Court of Appeal challenging the ruling.
The appellate Court, in its judgment, held that the appeal was meritorious.
The panel allowed the appeal and set aside the ruling of the trial court.
The appellate court further ordered that the suit be transferred to the Federal High Court Lagos Division for assignment by the FHC Chief Judge for accelerated hearing and determination.
It said the order was in line with the powers conferred on it by Section 15 of the Court’s Act and acting inconsonance with Section 22(3) of the Federal High Court Act 2005 (as amended)
