Court orders NIMASA to pay vessel owners $39m

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency to pay the sum of $39m to the owners of a vessel known as M/T Agbonmien for unlawfully detaining it and selling its contents.Justice Okon Abang ordered NIMASA to pay the judgement sum to the vessel owners without delay after considering arguments by both parties.Abang, in his judgement, said investigation by the Police revealed that NIMASA and the Nigerian Ports Authority sold the large quantity of kerosene the vessel was carrying to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation offshore.He said the vessel was rendered moribund in the process and that the action of the agency was not only unlawful, but was also criminal in nature."The action of the agency in selling the product on board the vessel is not only unconstitutional, but criminal in nature because investigation conducted by the police in this matter revealed that NIMASA and NPA sold the product on board the vessel after arrest. They also rendered the vessel moribund," the judge ruled.NIMASA was said to have arrested and detained the vessel offshore in Lagos on the excuse that it was not sea-worthy.The vessel owners had stated in their statement of claim that it was carrying thousands of tonnes of kerosene as at the time of the arrest.
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