Owerri---His Lordship, Hon. Justice I. S. Galadima of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Owerri Judicial Division on Wednesday 13th June in a ruling delivered dismissed suit for lack of jurisdiction to temper with any of its findings not being empowered as an appellate court so to do as an abuse of court process in a matter between RAY M. CHINDA (CLAIMANT/RESPONDENT) Vs. PORT HARCOURT REFINING COMPANY LIMITED (DEFENDANT/APPLICANT).
The case is one seeking redress for allegedly unpaid salaries, benefits and allowances which ordinarily would have accrued to the Claimant but for the interruption of his employment. The quest here is for the determination whether he is entitled to the fruit of his judgment which he obtained in the year 2000 but is yet to be enforced.
In the preliminary objection filed on the 29thday of June 2016 by PORT HARCOURT REFINING COMPANY LIMITED praying this Court to strike out this cause for want of jurisdiction on the grounds that this suit is an abuse of court process in that the said judgment is presently subject of an appeal before the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt Judicial Division and The Rivers State High Court has variously refused to enforce the said judgment against the defendant;
The applicant further contended that this Court would be seen as attempting to sit on appeal against a decision made by a Court of coordinate jurisdiction.
Moving on, the Claimant/Respondent responded among others that this suit does not constitute an abuse of court process. The reason accordingly is that the decision of the High Court of Rivers State in suit number NHC/24/99 and between these two parties remains valid to date in that it was never set aside or appealed against. That the ruling made per Hon. Justice Ebeku were merely orders to set aside the garnishee nisi application initially successfully made by this Claimant/Respondent.
After reviewing the argument of the parties, the Court Presided by Hon. Justice I. S. Galadima expressed thus;
“I do not therefore find any reason to believe that this action is caught up by the Limitation Law. It is accordingly not time – barred as suggested and I so declare.
“While I concede to the fact that this Court cannot sit on appeal over any matter adjudicated by a court of coordinate jurisdiction i.e. the High Court of Rivers State, I am still duty bound to consider the judgment it made in arriving at a fair decision in this application. It is worthy of note to state that being that the judgment delivered by my learned brother Agbaha, J in 2000 is the subject of controversy and which is allegedly currently before the Supreme Court, there are no legal impediments to the hearing and determination of this present suit before me. It is therefore safe to say that any decision arrived here shall be without prejudice to the previous decision of the High Court of Rivers State in so far as these claims are currently constituted.
“Thus said, I do not agree with the argument by the Defendant/Applicant to the fact that since the matter (was) subject of appeal before the Port Harcourt Division of the Court of Appeal when this action was filed, this automatically makes this (suit) an abuse of judicial process.
“At the risk of seeming repetitive, the year 2000 judgment of the High Court of Rivers State remains valid and subsisting and I lack jurisdiction howsoever, to temper with any of its findings not being empowered as an appellate court so to do. Therefore, the Defendant’s/Applicant’s argument that this suit constitutes an abuse of process because the Rivers State High Court variously refused to enforce the 2000 judgment in favor of the judgment creditor thereat is definitely not my mettle and cannot be an ingenuous reason to strike out this suit.
“Giving these foregone reasons, I am convinced that this application lacks merit. It was time dissipating and wanton. The same is hereby dismissed without costs.
“The case is ordered for trial forthwith
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