4 months ago
5
The Incorporated Trustees of HEDA Resource Centre said it would appeal the judgment of the Federal High Court, Lagos, which struck out its application seeking to stop the Federal Ministry of Environment, ATC Nigeria Wireless Infrastructure Limited and MTN Communications Plc from going ahead with the planned construction of new base stations near the existing sites operated by other infrastructure operators.
Justice Yelim Bogoro had struck out its application challenging the respondents’ planned construction of base stations.
The Executive Director, HEDA Resource Centre, Olanrewaju Suraju, while reacting to the verdict last week, said the decision of the Federal High Court was very odd and inconsistent with its earlier position that the Plaintiff had a cause of action in the preliminary objection brought by MTN on the same facts before the court.
He added that the trial judge, Bogoro erred in law, when he came to conflicting conclusions on two similar applications.
“We see this decision of the Federal High Court as very odd and inconsistent with the law.
The reason is the fact that the same trial judge had admitted that there was a cause of action on the earlier application on the same set of facts brought by the fifth respondent, MTN.
The court also in another application by the fourth respondent, ATC, which came much later affirmed the fact that HEDA Resource Centre, the Plaintiff had a cause of action.
It is strange to us that His Lordship suddenly shifted his earlier position by saying there was no cause of action when nothing material has changed,” he stated.
Justice Bogoro had in March 2024, dismissed two applications filed by ATC and MTN challenging the competence of the suit filed by HEDA Resource Centre and affirmed the latter’s locus to file the case against the two companies.
English (US) ·