Justice Yellim Bogoro of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi has ordered the Nigerian Navy to immediately release the detained vessel, MT Dejikun, bringing to a head a legal battle that has lingered for nearly two years despite an earlier court directive.
Delivering judgment on a motion seeking the vessel’s release, Justice Bogoro reaffirmed that the court’s previous order remained valid and binding. The matter followed the striking out of the charge marked FHC/L/65c/17, which had formed the basis of the vessel’s continued detention.
The court had initially struck out an earlier charge against MT Dejikun on 3 July 2023 for lack of diligent prosecution and directed that the vessel be released. However, the Nigerian Navy failed to comply with that order, prompting fresh legal steps to enforce the court’s decision.
Court documents show that, pursuant to the 3 July 2023 ruling, the Admiralty Marshal of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, lawfully sold the vessel to Sea Delights Marine Wreckage Limited.
Following the striking out of the charge, KG’s Marine Limited, the vessel’s former owner, through its counsel Jerry Omoregie, filed a motion seeking a mandatory injunction to compel the Navy to release the vessel.
The application was brought under Section 6(6) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), alongside relevant provisions of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2009 and the court’s inherent jurisdiction.
The applicant asked the court to direct the Chief of Naval Staff and the Flag Officer, Western Naval Command, Apapa, Lagos, to release MT Dejikun, which remained in naval custody despite the subsisting order.
Among the grounds advanced was that the vessel had been lawfully sold to Sea Delights Marine Wreckage Limited by the Admiralty Marshal in compliance with the court’s directive. It was further argued that there was no appeal against the 3 July 2023 order, and that the criminal charge against the vessel had been struck out on 8 January 2024 after repeated failure by the prosecution to appear in court. No court of competent jurisdiction, the applicant maintained, had set aside the subsisting orders.
The motion was supported by a 25-paragraph affidavit deposed to by Felix Emori Egbe, Operations Manager of KG’s Marine Limited.
In response, the Nigerian Navy and other respondents filed a preliminary objection, urging the court to dismiss the application on the basis that a pending charge was yet to be determined.
Justice Bogoro dismissed the Navy’s objection and struck out the amended charge filed against the vessel. He held that the earlier order of 3 July 2023 remained valid and enforceable, particularly as no appeal had been lodged against it.
Consequently, the court granted the mandatory injunction and ordered the immediate release of MT Dejikun to Sea Delights Marine Wreckage Limited.
Specifically, the Chief of Naval Staff and the Flag Officer, Western Naval Command, Apapa, Lagos, were directed to release the vessel forthwith in compliance with the court’s standing order.