Court Restrains Jonathan From Assenting To Oil And Gas Export Free Zone Bill

                  A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, yesterday, restrained President Goodluck Jonathan from assenting to the bill for an Act to amend the Oil and Gas Export Free Zone Act.
Trial judge, Justice Saliu Saidu, also restrained the National Assembly and the Clerk of the National Assembly from forwarding the bill for an Act to Amend the Oil and Gas Export Free Zone Authority Act. Cap. 05 to President Jonathan for assent.


The orders were sequel to an ex-parte application by Nigerdock Nigeria Limited, Simco Free Zone Company and Nigerdock Nigeria Plc-FZE, who are plaintiffs in the suit.

The court also restrained the defendants from prohibiting the usage of the plaintiffs’ facilities at Snake Island Integrated Free Zone for Oil and Gas cargoes destined for use in the free zone.

Yusufu Abdullahi, a director of Simco Free Zone Company, had averred in an affidavit in support of the suit, that Nigerdock Nigeria Limited is a promoter of Snake Island Integrated Free Zone, SIIFZ, and that Simco is a company saddled with the responsibility to develop, market, manage, operate, and administer the SIIFZ.

He averred that SIIFZ was approved as a privately owned and managed free zone by a presidential declaration in January 2005, and was duly licensed by the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority, NEPZA, in April 2005, while SIIFZ is operated by Simco Free Zone Company, under the direct supervision and monitoring of NEPZA.

He added that other regulatory agencies such as Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA,  Nigerian Customs Service, NCS, the Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS, the Nigeria Police Force, NPF, and Department of State Services, DSS, are present within SIIFZ to ensure due compliance with all laws and that appropriate security is maintained
He averred that in November 2014, the plaintiffs became aware that a bill for an Act to Amend the Oil and Gas Export Free Zone Authority Act, Cap. 05, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, had been presented to the Senate and that the plaintiffs were not invited to the public hearing that the Senate had in respect of the bill.

He said that notwithstanding, the plaintiffs submitted a petition to the Senate when they became aware that a public hearing had been conducted, adding that the petition was aimed at sensitising the Senate on how the amendment will negatively undermine the plaintiffs and violate their constitutional rights.

The deponent averred that Section 5(3) of the Bill seeks to expand the powers of OGFZA such that it can without further assurance take over and perform the functions hitherto performed by NEPZA, while Section 10 of the Bill further seeks to confer the rights to handle oil and gas cargoes only at approved oil and gas concessioned ports, with freedom to investors to choose ports of discharge of their cargoes within designated terminals at Onne, Warri and Calabar ports.