The Respondent commenced this action at the Rivers State High Court claiming, among other reliefs, the sum of N14,800,000.00 (Fourteen Million, Eight Hundred Thousand Naira only), (the equivalence of 38,845 US Dollars) representing hire rentals of the houseboat Prince III. It also highlights the implication of the decisions for the maritime industry. The case under review examines the application of the concept of simple contracts by the Supreme Court in determining the admiralty jurisdiction of the Federal High Court.
This has created uncertainty regarding the admiralty jurisdiction of the Federal High Court as most admiralty matters are based on simple contracts.
Instead, it is the State High Courts that can exercise jurisdiction in respect of simple contractual claims. The Supreme Court has endorsed the position that the Federal High Court does not possess jurisdiction in respect of simple contracts. The application of the concept of simple contracts within the context of the subject matter jurisdiction of the Federal High Court has unsettled and rendered less defined the admiralty jurisdiction of the Federal High Court. The 1999 Constitution further settled the issue in section 251(1) which provides that the jurisdiction of the State High Courts is subject to the exclusive jurisdictional competence of the Federal High Court on specific subject matters listed in section 251, which includes “any admiralty jurisdiction.” PAN ATLANTIC SHIPPING & TRANSPORT AGENCIES where the Court held that the Federal High Court and the State High Courts had concurrent jurisdiction over admiralty matters. The Supreme Court resolved this jurisdictional wrangling in SAVANNAH BANK LIMITED V. Prior to the promulgation of the 1999 Constitution, there existed a jurisdictional tussle on admiralty matters between the Federal High Court and the State High Courts. It is interesting to note that the scope of this admiralty jurisdiction of the Federal High Court has become less clear following a number of recent court decisions. Section 251(1)(g) of the Constitution confers on the Federal High Court the competence to entertain any admiralty matters in Nigeria to the exclusion of all other courts in the country. The jurisdiction of a court to entertain a matter is conferred on the court by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) or by the statute that created the court.
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