The Supreme Court has upheld the exclusive authority of the Federal Government over activities on the nation’s inland waterways, including the imposition of levies and licensing of operators in the sector.
The judgment, authored by Justice John Okoro and delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim, declared it unlawful and illegal for states to attempt control over the inland waterways and impose levies on businesses operating in this domain.
The apex court emphasized that existing laws vest sole control of activities on the nation’s inland waterways in the Federal Government, specifically through its agencies—the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and the Nigerian Maritime Standard and Safety Agency (NMSSA)—and no other level of government.
The respondents to the appeal included the Lagos State Waterways, the Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, the Attorney-General of Lagos State, the Governor of Lagos State, the Incorporated Trustees of the Association of Tourist Boat Operators and Water Transportation of Nigeria (ATBOWTN), and the Incorporated Trustees of the Dredgers Association of Nigeria (DAN).
The appeal, filed in 2018, was presented for the appellants by a legal team led by Lateef Fagbemi, who currently serves as the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.
The Supreme Court concurred with Fagbemi’s argument, affirming that NIWA is the exclusive agency authorized to levy, impose, and charge rates of utilization along the declared waters of the Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority. It underscored NIWA’s status as the rightful and legal federal agency empowered to manage, direct, and control all activities on navigable waters and their right of way nationwide, in accordance with Sections 8 and 9 of the NIWA Act.
The court further agreed that the actions of the Lagos government and its agencies amounted to a blatant usurpation and illegal encroachment on the statutory functions of NIWA. Notably, the waterways of Lagos State and others in Nigeria fall under the Exclusive Legislative List outlined in Part 1 of the Second Schedule to the 1999 Constitution, and only the Federal Government, through the National Assembly, can legislate on Maritime Shipping and Navigation.
The appellants also contended that the creation of the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) through the enactment of LASWA Law No. 14 of 2008 is unconstitutional. While the court acknowledged that existing laws do not align with Lagos’s resource control arguments, it suggested that political stakeholders, including the Legislature, could consider amending the law to address concerns raised by Lagos and others on the matter.
In affirming the judgment delivered on March 28, 2014, by Justice John Tsoho of the Federal High Court in Lagos, the Supreme Court overturned the July 18, 2017, decision of the Court of Appeal (Lagos division) that had set aside the Federal High Court judgment.