Overview
The Paradigm | April 25th, 2016
Justice Buba of the Federal High Court today, April 25, 2016 dismissed an action brought by Bi-Courtney Highway Services Limited against the Federal Minister of Works, Attorney General of the Federation and three companies. Bi-Courtney brought the action seeking an order of the Court to restrain the Federal Government via Minister of Works from re-concessioning the Lagos-Ibadan expressway to any other construction company, arguing that any re-concession would amount to a breach of the contract between it and the Federal Ministry of Works.
In delivering the Court’s ruling, Justice Buba, whilst not agreeing with the defendants that the matter was an abuse of Court process, held that the matter was brought outside the time limited by the Public Officers’ Protection Act and therefore dismissed the action in its entirety. The Federal Ministry of Works was represented by Professor Fabian Ajogwu, SAN, whose firm argued that once a suit against a public officer is commenced more than three months after the cause of action arose, such a case should be held to be statute-barred and the Court decline jurisdiction.
It would be recalled that the delay in construction of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway has been a source of worry and nightmare to Nigerian road users, earning the road the label ‘death trap’. The Federal Government therefore acted quickly to remedy the situation. The steps taken by the Federal Government have been the subject of suits filed by Bi-Courtney Highway Services Limited in various Courts in Nigeria.
