The Court of Appeal, Lagos Division has sent back the Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas Limited and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Security Agency to the Federal High Court in its dispute over the propriety or otherwise of the NLNG paying levies to NIMASA.
The Court of Appeal gave the ruling on Friday, saying the case file be sent back for re-assignment.
The dispute between both parties arose as a result of perceived conflicts in their respective enabling laws.
NIMASA had said its levies were applicable to NLNG, while the latter argued that it was exempted from such levies and charges by virtue of the NLNG Act.
NLNG had filed a suit before the Federal High Court Lagos in 2013 seeking judicial determination on the legality of the levies sought by NIMASA.
NIMASA had in response filed a counter-claim, saying it was entitled to the levies.
In the lower court’s judgment, delivered by Justice Mohammed Idris in October 2017, the court held that NLNG was not liable to make the said payments to NIMASA.
The judge, therefore, ordered that all such payments already made by NLNG to NIMASA be refunded.
The court had also ruled that NIMASA was wrong in blocking the Bonny Channel for the purpose of enforcing the payments against NLNG.
Dissatisfied with the judgement of the lower court, NIMASA filed an appeal on October 19, 2017, urging the appellate court to set aside the lower court’s verdict.
In its judgment read by Justice Joseph Ikyegh, the appellate court held: “The appeal is allowed, and the judgment delivered by the lowered 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.”
Justices Garba Lawal and Gabriel Ominiyi agreed with the verdict.
In its suit, NIMASA averred that the NLNG is liable to pay three per cent gross freight on its international in-bound and out-bound cargo as sea protection levy.
It also claimed 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.
All of these claims were, however, disputed by the NLNG which sought a court’s determination of the legality of levies as well as the blockade of the Bonny Channel as a result of the dispute.
The NLNG claimed it lost about $475 million when NIMASA blocked the Bonny Channel.