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'Nigerian Court Lacks Jurisdiction to Try 13 Russians' By Chika Amanze-Nwachukwu Thirteen expatriates on trial for alleged illegal oil bunkering may soon regain their freedom as an expert in international law has declared before the Federal High Court trying them, that a Nigerian court has neither personal nor territorial jurisdiction to try the accused. The accused persons, all Russian nationals, have been in detention since March 2, when they were arraigned before Justice Gloria Okeke, for alleged unlawful conveying of about 11,300 metric tonnes of crude oil valued at about N345 million in a vessel MT African Pride. In an expert opinion filed yesterday at the Federal High Court, Professor Ben Nwabueze, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), and an authority in International Law, said since the alleged offence against the expatriates took place 18 nautical miles away from Nigeria's territorial waters, the court has no jurisdiction over the matter against the accused persons, even on the assumption that the Territorial Waters Act is constitutionally valid. The Attorney-General of the Federation, which is prosecuting the case had alleged that the Russians were arrested by authorities of Nigerian Navy within the Nigerian territorial waters while unlawfully conveying crude oil in their vessel. But the accused in their defence had maintained innocence, claiming that they were not arrested within Nigerian waters. Corroborating the defence submission in his written brief, Nwabueze said, both the Sea Fisheries Act and the Exclusive Economic Zone Act are not relevant to the charge against the foreigners "both because the charge states only that the offences took place "within the Nigerian territorial waters" and not within Nigeria's exclusive economic zone, and because MT African Pride was not alleged to have engaged in fishing or other act prohibited by the Sea Fisheries Act or in any acts or omission made an offence by the Exclusive Zone Act. "As with territorial jurisdiction, the jurisdiction of the court over persons should be considered first, from the standpoint of the common law, and second, from the standpoint of the charges in the common law made by the three Acts (Territorial Waters Act, Exclusive Economic Zone Act, and Sea Fisheries Act). Who Are We ? | About THISDAYOnLine.com | THISDAY People | Contact Us © Copyright 2000 Leaders & Company Limited

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