The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld its earlier judgment, ordering the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to pay $22.6 million (N8.1billion) in damages to BCE Consulting Engineers over a failed Consultancy Service Contract.
According to NAN, the NNPC through its counsel had approached the court for a review of the July 5 judgment over alleged error of facts.
Judicial review is a procedure provided under the Supreme Court Civil Procedure Rules for review of extant judgments.
The counsel argued that the court did not hear their preliminary objection and that their cross-appeal was dismissed with hearing.
However, Justice C. C. Nweze, while delivering the judgment dismissed the appeal, saying “this apex court cannot be cajoled with this kind of application; it’s an abuse of justice.”
Nweze, therefore, awarded costs of N500, 000 to be paid personally by counsel to the NNPC.
Meanwhile, BCE in its counter-affidavit requested the court to disregard NNPC’s application but urged it to uphold the award of the N8.1 billion judgment sum because NNPC breached an agreement with it. In July 1999, BCE filed an action at the Federal High Court, Lagos, in Suit No. FHC/L/C/I316/2000 against NNPC following the corporation’s termination of the contract on the directive of the federal government.
The Court of Appeal had on March 7, 2002, directed the NNPC to pay BCE the sum of $22. 6 million damages for the illegal cancellation of the agreement.
