The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday, stopped the government of Kogi state from shutting down Dangote Cement PLC situated in Obajana area of the state.
The court, in a ruling that was delivered by Justice Binta Nyako, equally restrained the state government from disrupting or suspending activities of Dangote Coal Mines Ltd and Dangote Industries Ltd in Okaba at Ankpa and Olamaboro Local Government Areas, respectively.
The order of interim injunction followed two separate ex-parte motions the companies brought before the court.
The companies had in the motion ex-parte marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1876/22, sued the Kogi House of Assembly, Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development and Mining Cadastre Office as 1st to 4th defendants.
Applicants in this suit are Dangote Coal Mines Ltd and Dangote Industries Ltd.
Similarly, in the second motion marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1877/22, the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, was joined as a defendant in the suit.
The Applicants, through their lawyer, Mr. Ricky Tarfa, SAN, specifically prayed the court for an order of interim injunction restraining the defendants/respondents or any person purporting to act on their behalf from extending the exercise of the defendants’ oversight functions outside the concurrent and residual legislative list and unto the executive legislative list of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.
As well as, for an order of interim injunction restraining them or any person purporting to act on their behalf from making any resolution or order, disrupting, suspending or shutting down the facilities or activities of the applicants anywhere in the state in contravention of the provisions of Section 4(2) and item 32 of part 1 second Schedule of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
More so, it sought an order of interim injunction restraining them from further giving effect to any resolution, declaration or decision purporting to suspend the activities of the applicants in the state in contravention of the 1999 Constitution.
Moving the motions on Wednesday, Ms. Regina Okotie-Eboh, who appeared for the companies, said the crux of the matter was the restriction of the operations of the applicants, the invasion, and the disruption of the business by the defendants.
She argued that the closure of the cement factory by the defendants would affect the production of cement in Nigeria and put thousands of jobs at risk.
Okotie-Eboh alleged that the Kogi State House of Assembly and the Commissioner for Justice in the state disrupted the cement production, even though they did not have the power to do so.
She told the court that the Commissioner further threatened to invade the company again.
Consequently, the Applicants, sought an order of the court to preserve the subject matter of the suit, pending the hearing and determination of the case.
After she had listened to the counsel, Justice Nyako granted the interim orders, even as she ordered service of the motion on notice on the defendants within 14 days.
The court subsequently adjourned the matter till November 22 for a hearing.