By John Joseph
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The Supreme Court of Nigeria has delivered a unanimous judgment, dismissing a suit filed by the 36 state governments against the Federal Government. The suit sought to compel the Federal Government to account for its earnings from the sale of liquefied natural gas (LNG), natural gas liquids, and related products since 1999.
In the lead judgment, Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba affirmed the preliminary objection raised by General of the Federation (AGF) and held that the Supreme Court lacked the original jurisdiction to hear and determine the suit. The judge agreed with the defendant that the suit was an attempt to re-litigate issues already decided by the Supreme Court in the case of the Attorney General of Bauchi State against the AGF.
The Supreme Court had earlier decided in the AG, Bauchi v. AGF case that the revenues accruable to the government of the federation, which are payable into the federation account, had already been dealt with. Therefore, the current suit was deemed to be an attempt to re-litigate settled issues.
Consequently, the judge struck out the suit for want of jurisdiction to hear the case as presently constituted. The other members of the panel, including Justices Uwani Abba-Aji, Emmanuel Agim, Simon Tsammani, Stephen Adah, and Jamilu Tukur, concurred with the lead judgment.
This decision has significant implications for the ongoing debate about the management of Nigeria’s natural resources and the distribution of revenues among the three tiers of government. The Supreme Court’s ruling underscores the importance of respecting the jurisdictional boundaries of the courts and the need for litigants to carefully consider the implications of their actions.
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