The Supreme Court of Nigeria has ordered that all waterways in the country, including the right to levy and license operators, should be controlled by the federal government, and not states.

The court held that states lack the constitutional right to impose levies on businesses operating in the nation’s inland waterways and that it is illegal for states to control the waterways and impose levies. 

This is according to a judgment by Justice Inyang Okoro, read by Justice Emmanuel Agim, and delivered Friday, in an appeal marked SC/CV/17/2018.

The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), and the Nigerian Maritime Standard and Safety Agency (NMSSA), Minister of Mines and Steel Development, and the Minister of Transport, filed the appeal.

While the Lagos State Waterways, the Lagos governor, commissioner for waterfront infrastructure development, attorney general, the Incorporated Trustees of Association of Tourist Boat Operators and Water Transportation of Nigeria (ATBOWTN),

 and the Incorporated Trustees of Dredgers Association of Nigeria (DAN), were respondents to the suit.

The appeal filed in 2018, was prosecuted for the appellants by a team of lawyers led by Lateef Fagbemi.

According to the apex court, NIWA is the only agency responsible for the levying and charging of rates of utilisation along the declared waters of the NIWA.

The court also held that NIWA is the only constitutionally recognised agency of federal government with the powers to manage, direct and control all activities on the navigable waters and its right of way, nationwide, for inland navigation, pursuant to sections 8 and 9 of NIWA Act.

The justices agreed with the federal government’s counsel that the activities of the Lagos government and its agencies, was a usurpation and an illegal encroachment on the functions of NIWA because the waterways of all states in Nigeria, are under the Exclusive Legislative List, set out in Part 1 of the Second Schedule to the 1999 Constitution.

While conceding that the National Assembly, could legislate on maritime shipping and navigation, the court held that the power to legislate on any subject in the Exclusive Legislative List was not within the rights of the Lagos government.

The court stated that the legislature could work on amending the law to address the concern raised by Lagos.

The court therefore restored the March 28, 2014 judgment of Justice John Tsoho of the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court and reversed the July 18, 2017 verdict of the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal.

Following the regime of multiple charges by agencies of both the federal and Lagos governments, ATBOWTN and DAN, in a suit marked FHC/L/CS/543/2012, approached the the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court to determine which tier of government has the power by extant laws to license and levy business operators on the nation’s inland waterways.

Mr Tsoho, on March 28, 2014, held, among others, that NIWA and NMSSA are the authorised agencies in matters relating to the commercial activities of ATBOWTN and DAN, who are involved in water tourism, water transportation and sand dredging within the national inland waterways.

The high court stopped the Lagos government from further seeking to control the commercial activities of ATBOWTN and DAN.

Mr Tsoho’s judgment was vacated on July ,18, 2017 in an appeal marked CA/L/886/2014. 

Then, the matter went before the Supreme Court which reaffirmed the high court judgement.