Dissatisfied with the Federal High Court judgment on his suit filed on the controversial Malabu Oil deal, a son of the former Head of State, Mohammed Abacha, has dragged the Federal Government, Shell Petroleum Nigeria and other parties to the Appeal Court over the matter.
Mohammed, in a notice of appeal filed at the Court of Appeal, is seeking an order of the appellate court to compel the Federal High Court to hear its motion to amend its writ of summons first before hearing the objections raised by the Federal Government and Shell Company.
It would be recalled that Mohammed and Pecos Energy Ltd in the original suit were challenging what they claimed to be the illegal divestment of their shares in OPL 245.
After the initial filing of the suit, he subsequently sought to amend the motion in the original suit to strike out the Federal Government, Shell and the Minister of Petroleum from the suit. The move was vehemently opposed by the defendants, a position which was upheld by the Federal High Court.
In the latest appeal suit, the appellant is praying the court to hold that “the trial judge of the Federal High Court of Nigeria erred in law where he held that the 5th-10th respondent’s notice of preliminary objection be heard first before the hearing of the appellants motion to amend their writ of summons and statements of claims contrary to the judgements of the court of Appeal in the case of Okito Vs Obioru (2006) LPELR.”
Mohammed is also seeking other reliefs, including an order directing that his motion to amend should be heard before the hearing of the 5th to 10th respondents’ preliminary objection.
Meanwhile, no date has been fixed for hearing of the appeal.
