Court reserves ruling in case against NLNG, former MD

RIVERS

State Magistrates’ Court sitting in Port Harcourt has reserved ruling in a case of alleged obtaining by false pretence brought against the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Limited ( NLNG), its former Managing Director, Mr. Tony Attah, and General Counsel, Akachukwu Nwokedi, till February 7, 2022.

Arguments commenced at the Magistrate Court, Port Harcourt, before her Lordship, Blessing VickJumbo, in respect of the preliminary objection filed by the NLNG, Attah, and Nwokedi, regarding the criminal summons, issued against them by one of its vendors, Macobarb International Ltd and its Managing Director, Mr. Ogboru Shedrak, as complainants.

The preliminary objection, dated December 8, 2021, was supported with an affidavit and a further affidavit dated 8th and 20th December 2021 respectively.

Arguing the objection in court, Dr. Bayo Adaralegbe submitted that the complaint was based on a contract awarded by NLNG to the vendor, which NLNG terminated due to lack of performance.

The vendor had petitioned no fewer than 10 federal and state government agencies, characterising the dispute between the parties as one of breach of contract.

He submitted that the facts could not have given rise to the offence as obtaining by false pretence under the Criminal Code of Rivers State as alleged by the complaint.

But the counsel for the NLNG argued further that the complaint failed to satisfy Section 89( 5) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Rivers State, which stipulated that there had to first be a police investigation before the court could deal with private prosecution.