The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Federal Government to pay the Rivers State government N502m monthly allocation from oil derivatives.
In his ruling on Tuesday, Justice Taiwo Taiwo upheld the Rivers State’s entitlement from the Oil Mining Lease 112.
Following the ruling, Justice Taiwo ordered the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Accountant-General of the Federation, to comply with a 2011 verdict of the Supreme Court in respect of OML112 Offshore.
He also ordered the bodies to stop the deductions of the total sum of N502,298,943.03 or any sum whatsoever accruing from the oil block, to Rivers state.
The judge ruled that the federal government to make a full refund of the 13 per cent derivation illegally denied the Rivers state government from the crude oil and gas production within the OML 112 offshore from September 2018 till the determination of the suit and thereafter.
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He equally ordered the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Accountant-General of the Federation and the RMAFC to pay interest at the various commercial rates not being less than 15 per cent per annum until satisfaction of the whole debt.
Justice Taiwo also restrained the defendants and their agents from disregarding the finality of the Supreme Court judgment delivered on March 18, 2011 in the suit, SC/27/2010, between Attorney General of Rivers State and Attorney General of Akwa Ibom State & Anor, on the OML 112.
The suit was instituted by the Attorney General of Rivers state to challenge the deduction of the sum of N502, 298,943.03 accruing from OML 112 from the statutory allocation of the state by the defendants.
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