A Federal
High Court in Lagos has set aside the fresh concession agreement on the
Lagos-Ibadan Expressway reconstruction project.
While
delivering his ruling in a suit filed by Bi-Courtney Highway Services
Limited against the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of
Justice, the Federal Ministry of Works, Infrastructure Concession
Regulatory Commission, The Infrastructure Bank Plc and Motorway Assets
Limited on Friday, Justice Ibrahim Buba granted a mandatory injunction
on the fresh concession agreement purportedly signed by the defendants
on January 16, 2015, as prayed by the plaintiff/applicant.
Among the
prayers sought by Bi-Courtney in suit No. FHC/L/CS/727/2015 was an order
of mandatory injunction setting aside the concession agreement granted
MAL over the road in the form of a Finance, Operate and Transfer
arrangement involving the Federal Government.
The court
held that the grant of the concession to MAL in the circumstances of the
case was a flagrant disregard for the established principles of law.
Bi-Courtney
also sought in its application an “interlocutory injunction restraining
all the defendants/respondents, particularly the 1st, 2nd and 5th
defendants/respondents from implementing, giving effect to, actualising,
operating or, howsoever, taking any steps or actions whatsoever in
furtherance of, or pursuant to the concession agreement dated 16th of
January 2015, between the 1st, 2nd and the 5th defendants/respondents,
which purports to grant a concession over the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in
the form of a Finance, Operate and Transfer arrangement to the 5th
defendant pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit
herein.”
It was
reported on November 4, 2015 that MAL was looking for N150bn for the
second tranche of funds to execute the road project as the new private
sector investor in charge of the redevelopment after the controversial
cancellation of the concession agreement with Bi-Courtney on November
19, 2012, even as Federal Government agencies maintained that there was
no new concession agreement on the road.
The ICRC
had issued a statement on December 3 that it was not aware of any new
concession on the road, while Bi-Courtney insisted that the revocation
of its concession agreement with the Federal Government was illegal and
without recourse to due process.
Source:The Punch
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