A seven- man panel of the Supreme Court has struck out two suits filed by Bayelsa State Government against the Attorney General of the Federation,,Rivers and Akwa Ibom over revenues from disputed Soku oil wells.
The panel headed by Justice Sylvester Ngwuta struck out the two suits after lawyers to the plaintiff,Biriyai Dambo (SAN) and Kemsauode Wodu applied for withdrawal.
Wodu had at the mention of the first suit having the AGF and Rivers as defendants told the Supreme Court that his client chose to approach the court to stop the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) from deducting earnings due to Bayelsa State from the Soku oil wells.
He claimed that the Rivers State Government obtained a judgement at the Federal High Court behind the Bayelsa State Government in respect of which Rivers now lay claims to the Soku oil wells and earnings due from it adding that his client has applied for the leave of the lower court to enable it appeal as an interested party in the judgement allegedly got behind it by the Rivers State Government.
Justice Ngwuta noted that the Supreme Court cannot determine the suit by Bayelsa without examining the issues determined by the Federal High Court which would form part of the appeal at the Court of Appeal.
Ngwuta thereafter asked him to withdraw the suit.
Wodu on seeing that the panel was not backing out of their resolve to withdraw the suit,applied for withdrawal of the suit.
Consequently, Justice Ngwuta ruled that “Suit number SC/649/2020) having been withdrawn,is herrby struck out”.
Counsel to the Bayelsa, Biriyai Dambo ( SAN) applied for withdrawal of the second suit which had the AGF and the Akwa Ibom State as defendants having witnessed the position of the court in the earlier case.
The panel then proceeded to strike out the case.
