Justice Liman fails to sit

The Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, River State, presided over by Justice Abdullahi Liman, whose arrest by the Department of State Service (DSS) was foiled by Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, failed to sit yesterday.

Four days after, police patrol vehicles have remained stationed at the judge’s official residence along Forces Avenue, Old Government Reservation Area, Port Harcourt.

Justice Liman was billed to deliver a ruling in the suit between ARCO Group Plc and Nigerian Agip Oil Company, NAOC.After waiting for over three hours in court, legal representatives of plaintiff, Arco, an indigenous oil service company, which is seeking for the court to declare that NAOC violated Section 3 (2, 3) of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, 2010 by deliberately refusing to award the contract for the maintenance of OB/OB, Ebocha and Kwale gas plants as well as grant an extension of the award by way of interim or stop gap contract and the defendant, Agip, where told that the judge would not hear the matter till Friday.

A female official of the court who told legal representatives of the parties that the court would not sit yesterday. Though she did not give reasons for the absence of the judge, she announced that the matter has been shifted to Friday.