By Isaac Anumihe
Nigerian Maritime Administarion and Safety Agency (NIMASA), yesterday fulfilled its commitment to head for the appeal court in a judgement against it at the Federal High Court, Lagos.
In his judgment, Honourable Justice M.B. Idris, held that Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) was not liable to pay taxes and dues to NIMASA, and that all such payments already made by NLNG to NIMASA should be refunded to NLNG forthwith.
Idris further held that NIMASA was wrong in blockading the Bonny Channel for the purpose of enforcing the payments against NLNG.
But NIMASA had insisted that NLNG should pay the dues citing “Section 2 (1) of NIMASA Act which empowers it to collect dues and taxes from NLNG. The agency, had therefore blocked the Bonny Channels of NLNG thus preventing NLNG from doing its business.
On the strength of the judgement, NLNG had written to NIMASA demanding the payments of $315,598,823.29 debt made under protest to the agency since 2013.
But NIMASA had vowed to proceed to the Appeal Court. So, in a statement, yesterday, NIMASA said it has filed an appeal for stay of execution of the judgment and to restrain NLNG, pending the determination of the appeal. The statement said that the appeal was filed even before receiving the Certified True Copy of the judgment 14 days after the judgment was delivered in line with legal provisions. “This proactive step of the agency was taken to forestall any negative action, yet the NLNG ignored this court action and commenced a media trial.
In the grounds of Appeal by NIMASA’s legal team, the Agency complained that the learned trial Judge erred when in breach of NIMASA’s constitutional and fundamental right to fair hearing refused to consider and pronounce on its arguments, on the issues for determination and its counter claim filed in opposition to the amended originating summons.
“It also complained that the learned trial Judge erred in law in entertaining and granting the reliefs contained in NLNG’s amended originating summons wrongly used to commence the proceedings without converting it to a writ of summons, ordering pleadings and calling on the parties to lead oral evidence to prove their cases since their affidavits were irreconcilliably in conflict.
The Legal team noted that the above grounds led to the error of the court which occasioned miscarriage of justice to NIMASA” the statement, said.
According to the Director General of the Agency, Dr. Dakuku Peterside: “We feel there is an orchestrated publicity campaign to wrongly sway public opinion on the judgment. We therefore wish to reiterate that all levies and dues NIMASA collects are in line with the Act setting up the Agency which is later in time to the NLNG Act, which makes the payment of NIMASA’s statutory levies enforceable on all NLNG vessels”.