A Federal High Court in Lagos, in a ruling on Thursday, dismissed the stay of execution application filed by the Seaports Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN) on the judgment declaring that the association had no right to increase port charges.
Terminal operators had appealed for stay of execution and had gone to the Court of Appeal to challenge the judgment.
This was coming as the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) also filed an application praying the court to compel the terminal operators to comply with the earlier judgment.
NSC was praying the court to direct the terminal operators to immediately refund the sum of N150 billion “illegally collected in disobedience of the judgment.”
Lead Counsel to NSC, Mr. Olisa Agbakoba, had noted that the fact that the terminal operators applied for stay of execution and had gone to the Court of Appeal did not stop them from adhering to the earlier judgment.
Agbakoba had filed an application to compel the terminal operators to comply with the judgment pending the determination of the application for stay of execution.
He also demanded the immediate refund of the sum of N150 billion illegally collected by the terminal operators from shippers (importers and exporters) in disobedience of the judgment.
At the resumed hearing on Thursday, Justice Ibrahim Buba dismissed the application for stay of execution, saying there was no evidence to show that the judgement given earlier was executed at all.
“For there to be stay of execution, the judgement must have been seen to have been executed; there was no evidence to that effect; therefore the application for stay cannot subsist; it’s hereby dismissed,’’ Buba held.
He, however, granted the interlocutory application filed by NSC compelling STOAN to comply with the judgment earlier given, saying that interlocutory injunction was meant to protect legal rights.
However, the counsel who represented STOAN, Mr. Dayoola Johnson, had earlier told the court that there was a record of appeal before the court quashing the jurisdiction of the court to continue hearing the case.
Buba said the affidavit of records, which was filed by STOAN, was filed on March 18 after the court had adjourned to rule on the application for stay of execution.
He, therefore, held that all pending applications should go to the Court of Appeal.
The counsel to the terminal operators, Mr. Femi Atoyebi and the shipping companies had on the last adjourned date notified the court that they had entered an appeal at the Court of Appeal quashing the rights of the court to hear the matter.
Buba had, however, ruled that there was no record or evidence of transmission of appeal before the court.
Buba had adjourned to rule on the stay of execution earlier filed by STOAN.
On the case of stay of execution filed by shipping companies, the court on the last adjournment ruled that the notice of appeal was duly filed and there were records before the court that appeal has been entered at the Appeal Court.
Buba, therefore, stayed further proceedings on the matter pending the determination of the application before the appeal court.
On December 17, 2014, Buba, in a judgment, annulled illegal port charges and ordered shipping companies to refund billions of naira collected since 2006 from shippers (importers and exporters).
The judge affirmed in his judgement, the appointment of NSC as the economic regulator of the ports and dismissed the claims of shipping companies and the terminal operators.
Buba further held that the Shipping Line Agency Charges (SLAC) levied and collected from Nigerian shippers by the shipping companies since 2006 was illegal.
He ordered that the shipping companies should account and pay to Nigerian shippers all monies or fees charged and collected since 2006 as SLAC from shippers or users of shipping and port-related services from 2006 to date.
The court dismissed the claims of the shipping companies and the terminal operators and granted the counter claims of NSC.
Pursuant to the appointment of NSC as the economic regulator of the Nigerian ports by the Federal Government in February 2014, the council issued notices to both the shipping companies and terminal operators to reverse all illegal charges levied on Nigerian shippers.
Dissatisfied, the shipping companies and the terminal operators, mostly foreign owned, filed the earlier suits at the Federal High Court, Lagos, to invalidate the actions of NSC.
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