The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a suit filed by the 36 state governments, which sought to compel the Federal Government to account for earnings from the sale of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), natural gas liquids, and other related products since 1999.
A seven-member panel of justices, led by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, upheld the preliminary objection raised by the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi, against the suit. In a unanimous judgment, the court ruled that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the case and emphasized that the matter had already been addressed in a previous Supreme Court ruling.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Mohammed Garba stated that the suit amounted to an attempt to re-litigate issues already resolved in the case of ‘Attorney-General of Bauchi State v. AGF’, which pertained to revenues accruing to the Federal Government and payable into the Federation account.
The state governments had sought an order compelling the Federal Government to provide a detailed account of income from LNG and related products since 1999, when the first cargo of LNG was exported from Nigeria. They also requested that these earnings be paid into the Federation account for distribution among the states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Additionally, the states demanded the payment of approximately $17 billion in dividends, or any other earnings accrued up to May 17, 2020, from Nigeria’s share in Nigeria LNG Limited, which is held in trust by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The court, however, struck out the suit, asserting that the matter had already been settled in previous judicial decisions and lacked the necessary jurisdiction for further consideration.
