From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The Abuja division of the Court of Appeal has affirmed the Federal High Court’s (FHC) jurisdiction over statutory contracts involving the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The unanimous ruling dismissed an appeal by the CBN against Adani Mega System Ltd, with Justice Okong Abang delivering the lead judgement.
Abang declared the CBN’s appeal unmeritorious, upholding the FHC’s authority over contracts regulated by statute. He referenced a “build, operate, and own agreement” (Exhibit PL3) between the CBN and Adani for scanning services infrastructure for cargo inspections. “Having regard to the agreement of the parties that led to the execution of Exhibit PL3 for the provision of the scanning services infrastructure required for pre-shipment inspection of all inbound and outbound cargo as prescribed by Nigerian law, the contract is not an ordinary simple contract,” Abang stated.
He clarified that the contract has “statutory flavour”, governed by the Pre-Shipment Inspection of Import Act Cap 25 and Pre-Shipment Inspection of Export Act Cap 26, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004. “In other words, it is a contract regulated by statute,” he added.
Abang cited Section 20(3) of the Export Act: “Every proceeding under this Act shall, subject to the applicable procedure, be commenced at the Federal High Court, and any reference in this Act to ‘Court’ shall be construed accordingly.”
The dispute arose from a March 20, 2017, agreement following a February 16, 2017, mandate from the CBN’s Technical Committee of the Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme (CISS). Adani, the exclusive service provider for cargo inspection platforms, secured a Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) letter of no objection. The company invested millions of dollars, including borrowed funds, and completed significant work.
However, the CBN suspended the contract and terminated it on September 18, 2017, without clear justification, prompting Adani to sue at the FHC for unlawful termination.
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