Court dismisses suit against biosafety agency

The National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) has won a case instituted against it by the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) over a permit granted for the commercial release of Bacillus Thuringiensis (BT) cotton in Nigeria.

Justice A.R Mohammed of the Federal High Court Abuja, who delivered the judgement on Wednesday, dismissed the action on the ground the court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain it.

The judge, who ruled that the matter was not a fundamental rights issue as claimed by the plaintiff, said the matter was instituted over a year after the cause of action arose.

On the September 13, 2017, the foundation filed a case joining the agency, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Justice, Monsanto, National Biotechnology Development Agency, Ministry of Agriculture and National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration Control on BT cotton approval for commercial release in 2016.

The plaintiff had in their suit prayed the court to render the permit issued by the NBMA invalid and to further restrain the agency from issuing such permit.

The Director General of the agency, Dr Rufus Ebegba said the victory was for Nigerians, as it was a test for proper regulation of modern biotechnology in the country saying, “With this judgement, it has once again been proven that our judiciary system is a beacon of hope.”