A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, has dismissed a motion filed by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG), seeking to stop hearing of a suit brought against the energy company by one of its contractors, Macobarb international Limited.
NLNG had filed an appeal at the Appeal Court in Port Harcourt Division but brought a motion to stop hearing of the matter at the High Court pending outcome of the appeal. However, Macobarb countered motion and the Judge fixed June 20, 2023 for ruling.
The NLNG also filed a motion before the Court, where it claimed that Macobarb suit was filed out of time and that the company’s Chief Executive Officer was not to be a party in the substantive suit
Macobarb had filed a civil suit claiming billions of Naira over one billion naira for losses incurred in a contract of 2014, in Suit No. PHC/2013/CS/2022.
Ruling on the motion, the presiding judge, Hon. Justice Chinwendu Nwogu, ruled that the case was competent and awarded N200,000 cost against the NLNG for wasting the court’s time.
Nwogu discountenanced the NLNG motion on the ground that the interlocutory ruling, which led to the interlocutory appeal should be appealed together with the substantive ruling when it will come.
He stated that an interlocutory appeal should not stop hearing in the substantive matter, but that such appeal should wait till final judgement so all appeals can go at once.
The judge stated that the ruling was based on Supreme Court position on several cases especially the one on Amadi vs NNPC, saying what happened in that case was similar to the NLNG/Macobarb matter and that the suit lingered for 13 years in the Court of Appeal before coming back.
He urged both parties to proceed with the hearing and any party that eventually disagree with the eventual judgement and/or on any interlocutory ruling along the way can join all objections and file one appeal.
The judge, therefore, adjourned till July 19, 2023, for the commencement of hearing on the suit brought against NLNG by Macobarb Limited.
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