NIMASA, NLNG case: No appeal to Supreme Court, says Lateef Fagbemi SAN

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA)
has not received any notice from the Nigeria LNG (NLNG) Ltd seeking
to challenge at the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal decision in
their levies case.

NIMASA’s counsel, Lateef Fagbemi SAN, stated this following last
Friday’s appellate court judgment setting aside a Federal High
Court judgment which exempted the NLNG from levies imposed by the
NIMASA.

The appellate court returned the 2013 case to the lower court
and ordered that it be re-assigned to another judge for
retrial.

In a unanimous decision, a three-man panel of the appellate
court led by Justice Garuba Lawal upheld NIMASA’s argument that the
lower court erred in its judgment delivered on October 3, 2017.

Other members of the panel were Justice Abimbola Obaseki-Adejumo
and Justice Gabriel Kolawole.

The Justices upheld NIMASA’s contention, made through its lawyer
Lateef Fagbemi SAN, that the lower court breached NIMASA’s
fundamental right to fair hearing.

In its judgment read on their behalf by Justice Joseph Ikyegh,
the appellate court held: “The appeal is allowed, and the judgment
delivered by the lower court in October 2017 is hereby set
aside.

‘The case is hereby ordered to be sent back to the
administrative judge of the Lagos Division of the lower court to be
assigned to a judge for expeditious determination on its merit.

‘Parties are to bear the administrative cost of the appeal.”

In 2017, a judge of the Federal High Court, Lagos, Justice
Muhammed Idris, who is now at the Court of Appeal, decided the suit
in NLNG’s favour.

The judge held that NLNG was not liable to make the said
payments to NIMASA and that all payments already made by NLNG to
NIMASA should be refunded to NLNG.

The judge further held that NIMASA was wrong in blockading the
Bonny Channel for the purpose of enforcing the payments against
NLNG.

Dissatisfied, NIMASA filed an appeal before the Appeal Court
challenging the judgment on the the ground of fair hearing among
others.

NIMASA averred that the NLNG was liable to pay three per cent
gross freight on its international in-bound and out-bound cargo as
sea protection levy.

It also averred that NLNG is to pay two per cent cabotage
surcharge on all activities carried out for and on its behalf as
well as other sundry claims.