Appeal Court Sets Aside Judgment Declaring NIMASA Levies On NLNG Illegal
The Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal on Friday dismissed a judgment of the Federal High Court in Lagos which declared that the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLGN) was not liable to pay three percent gross freight on its international inbound and outbound cargo and sea protection levy amongst other charges to NIMASA.
The appellate court, in a unanimous judgment, delivered by Justice Garuba Lawal, dismissed the lower court judgment , saying it breached the fundamental rights of the appellant to fair hearing.
The three-man panel, which also includes Justice Abimbola Obaseki-Adejumo and Justice Gabriel Kolawole, ordered that the case be returned to the lower court and re-assigned to another judge for retrial.
it would be recalled that Justice Mohammed Idris had on October 3, 2017 held that NLNG, was not liable to pay three percent gross freight on its international inbound and outbound cargo, Sea Protection Levy, two percent cabotage surcharge on all activities carried out for and on its behalf, as well as other sundry claims, as insisted by NIMASA.
The judge had also 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 forthwith.
The court further stated that NIMASA was wrong in blockading the Bonny Channel for the purpose of enforcing the payments against NLNG.
Dissatisfied with verdict, NIMASA filed an appeal before the upper court challenging the judgment on the the ground its rights to fair hearing was violated among others.
In its suit filed in 2013, NLNG had sought a judicial determination of among other things, the legality or otherwise of the levies sought to be imposed on it by NIMASA, and the consequent blockade of the Bonny Channel by NIMASA and its agents as a result of the dispute.
NLNG had also sought a court order restraining NIMASA from further blockade of the Channel.
An interim injunction granted in favour of NLNG by the court was disobeyed by NIMASA, which again effected a blockade of the Bonny Channel for over a three week period whilst the matter was pending.
NIMASA had filed a counterclaim, restating its supposed entitlement to receive payment of the levies from NLNG.