US Firm, General Electric,
Accuses Nigerian Judiciary of
Corruption in US Court
Posted: December 3, 2012 -
16:57
General Electric, a United States
based Multinational Corporation
with a strong presence in Nigeria
and enjoying the patronage of
the federal government in the oil
and gas sector, has accused the
country’s judiciary of
understaffing, inefficiency and
corruption.
In its Motion for Summary
Disposition of a petition before a
Detroit, Michigan Circuit Court, to
recognize a Nigeria money
Judgment which was filed
against it by Q Oil Services
Nigeria Ltd, another Nigerian
Company, General Electric
International Company urged the
US Court not to recognize the
Nigerian judgment because the
Judgment “was rendered under
a Judicial System that does not
provide impartial Tribunals or
procedures compatible with the
requirements of due process of
law”.
In its submission to the court on
why the Nigerian judgment must
not be recognized in the US, the
General Electric relies on the US
State Department’s country’s
Report on Nigeria for 2012
which contains the following
findings about the Nigerian
judicial system: “Although the
constitution and law provide for
an independent judiciary, the
judicial branch remained
susceptible to pressure from the
executive and legislative
branches and the business
sector.
Political leaders influenced the
judiciary, particularly at the state
and local levels. Understaffing,
underfunding, inefficiency, and
corruption continued to prevent
the judiciary from functioning
adequately. Judges frequently
failed to appear for trials, often
because they were pursuing
other sources of income and
sometimes because of threats
against them. In addition court
officials often lacked the proper
equipment, training, and
motivation to perform their
duties, with lack of motivation
primarily due to inadequate
compensation. During the year
Supreme Court judges called for a
more independent judiciary”.
A part of the State Department’s
description of the prevailing
atmosphere in Nigeria further
reads, “On August 18, the
National Judicial Council (NJC)
suspended the president of the
Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Isa
Salami, after he refused the NJC's
directive to apologize to the NJC
and the chief justice of Nigeria,
Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu.
Salanii had accused Katsina-Alu
of interfering in the proceedings
of the 2007 Sokoto State
gubernatorial court case.
In an attempt to settle the
dispute, the NJC set up three
panels to investigate the
disagreement. The panels
declared neither justice was at
fault, declared the issue resolved,
and requested that Salami
apologize to the NJC and Katsina-
Alu. The Nigerian Bar Association
reached contrary findings, and
Salami refused to apologize. After
the NJC suspended Salami,
President Jonathan used his
constitutional authority to
recommend the compulsory
retirement of Salami and
appointed Justice Dalhatu Adamu
as acting president of the Court
of Appeals. The case raised
questions regarding the partisan
nature and level of independence
within the judiciary. Salami
appealed the ruling, and the
court case continued at year's
end”.
According to General Electric, the
US State Department’s findings
on Nigeria are consistent with a
similar finding in the Liberian
Courts for the same year, which a
US Court of Appeals had relied
upon to refuse recognition to a
Liberian Judgment in the US.
“The court found the Country
Reports reliable because the
Reports are submitted annually,
and are therefore investigated in
a timely manner. They are
prepared by area specialists at
the State Department." Based on
the State Department's findings,
the judgment of the Nigerian
court is unenforceable in
Michigan, GE argued.
In addition, GE also urged the US
Court not to recognize the
judgment because it was
“rendered in circumstances that
raise substantial doubt about the
integrity of the rendering court
with respect to the judgment, or
the specific proceeding in the
foreign court leading to the
judgment was not compatible
with due process of law."
Accusing the presiding Justice of
a High Court of Rivers State of
possible bias in the proceedings,
GE stated that “the Nigerian trial
court's September 29, 2010
default Judgment granted Q Oil's
claim for declaratory relief claims
and all of the damages it sought,
including $5,000,000 USD in
supposed "general" damages,
without a shred of evidence, and
without a formal trial, contrary to
Nigerian law and public policy”.
Finally, GE prays the Court to
dismiss the petition for
recognition or in the event the
Court does not dismiss the
complaint, to enter an order
staying the proceedings until the
conclusion of all appeals in
Nigeria.
The Plaintiff, Q Oil and Gas
Services Nigeria Limited had
asked the US Court to "recognize"
a Nigerian Court Judgment in the
sum of $5.5 million entered
against Defendant GE
International Operations, Nigeria
Ltd, pursuant to the Michigan
Uniform Foreign Country Money
Judgments Recognition Act of
2008 ("UFCMJRA".
Q Oil and Gas Services is expected
to file its response to the
allegations this week.