In a unanimous ruling delivered on Friday, the Supreme Court has directed the Chief Registrar of the Court of Appeal and the Admiralty Marshal to immediately hand over the crude oil stored aboard the FPSO Tamara Tokoni to General Hydrocarbons Limited (GHL).
The apex court allowed GHL’s appeal and set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal, declaring that the dispute between the company and First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) was purely contractual and did not qualify as an admiralty matter within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court.
A five-member panel of the Supreme Court, comprising Justices Uwani Musa Abba Aji, Adamu Jauro, Emmanuel A. Agim, Tijjani Abubakar, and Habeeb Adewale Abiru, held that the lower courts lacked the requisite jurisdiction to entertain the case as an admiralty proceeding. Justice Abiru read the lead judgment.
“The crude oil aboard the FPSO Tamara Tokoni should be released to General Hydrocarbons Limited forthwith and without further delay,” the court ordered.
The decision effectively ends a prolonged legal battle over the crude cargo on the floating production storage and offloading vessel, overturning earlier rulings in favour of First Bank of Nigeria.
The ruling underscores the Supreme Court’s position that not every dispute involving maritime assets automatically falls under admiralty jurisdiction, particularly when the core issues are rooted in contractual agreements between parties.
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