Court Bars AMAC From Screening Food Vendors

A Federal Capital Territory High Court has restrained the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) from issuing medical certificates of fitness, conducting training or screening food handlers operating in the Federal Capital Territory.

Justice Samira Bature gave the ruling in suit number FCT/HC/CV/983/2022, upholding an application filed by Dunes Investment and Global Services.

A Certified True Copy of the judgment was made available to journalists in Abuja on Thursday by counsel to the second respondent, Mr O. C. Alex Ibe.

Dunes Investment and Global Services had filed a notice of preliminary objection on November 25, 2025, seeking to strike out an interpleader summons filed on March 22, 2022, on the grounds that it was incompetent and an abuse of court process.

The company argued that the issues raised had already been determined in an earlier judgment involving the authority responsible for regulating food vendors in the Federal Capital Territory.

It cited a judgment delivered by Justice Yusuf Halilu in suit number CV/1642/2024 between Devyani International Nigeria Limited and AMAC on February 14, 2025.

The applicant maintained that the earlier judgment had conclusively determined the authority empowered to assess, collect payments and issue medical certificates for food handlers in the Federal Capital Territory Administration.

It further argued that the interpleader summons was an attempt to relitigate issues already decided and that the court had become functus officio.

“This Honourable Court is functus officio on the matters raised in the interpleader summons and lacks the requisite jurisdiction to reopen issues already decided upon.

“The interpleader summons constitutes a gross abuse of court process,” the preliminary objection stated.

In her ruling, Justice Bature said the court considered the notice of preliminary objection, supporting affidavit, written address, and the counter-affidavit filed by the opposing party.

She noted that the objector attached the earlier judgment delivered by Justice Halilu to support its argument that the matter had already been resolved.

The judge held that the issuance of demand and abatement notices to the applicant by AMAC over medical certificates of fitness, training and screening of food handlers violated existing laws.

The court also held that the action amounted to disobedience of an earlier judgment delivered on July 12, 2023.

Justice Bature consequently granted a perpetual injunction restraining AMAC from issuing further demand or abatement notices to the applicant or any other person concerning medical certificates of fitness, training or screening of food handlers in the territory.

The court also ordered AMAC to refund N1,222,000 to the applicant, being payments made in error between January 20 and June 13, 2023, for food handler certification and tests.