Fix prices of goods in 7 days, Court orders FG
By Jeffrey Agbo
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has issued an order to the Nigerian government, asking it to fix the prices of goods and petroleum products within seven days.
The judgment on Wednesday came in a suit filed by human rights activist, Femi Falana, against the Price Control Board and the Attorney-General of the Federation, listed as the first and second defendants.
Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa specifically ordered the government to fix the price of milk, flour, salt, sugar, bicycles, and their spare parts, matches, motorcycles and their spare parts, motor vehicles and their spare parts as well as petroleum products, which includes diesel, Premium Motor Spirit and kerosene.
Falana had approached the court to determine whether by Section 4 of the Price Control Act., the first respondent is carrying out its duty to impose a price on any goods that are of the kind specified in the First Schedule to the Price Control Act.
“A declaration that the failure or refusal of the respondents to fix the prices of bicycles and spare parts; flour; matches; milk; motorcycles and spare parts; motor vehicles and spare parts; salt; sugar and petroleum products including diesel, petrol motor spirit, and kerosene is illegal as it offends the provision of Section 4 of the Price Control Act, Cap., Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004,” Falana said.
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At the hearing of the case on Wednesday, the plaintiff, Falana informed the court that the motion on notice was premised on Section 4 (1) of the Price Control Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
He also told the court that the defendants in the suit have been served with the processes since it was filed in May 2023, but refused and failed to file any response or counter to it.
Falana consequently urged the court to grant all the reliefs sought since there was no counter from the respondents.
Justice Lewis-Allagoa, after listening to Falana’s submission, observed that the respondents did not file any counter to the suit.
The judge cited decided cases and held that “all the reliefs contained in the motion paper are hereby granted as prayed.”
Falana, in the affidavit in support of the motion deposed to by a lawyer in his chambers, Taiwo Olawanle, stated that the first defendant, the Price Control Board, was established by the Price Control Act, and it is saddled with the responsibility to fix a price on goods to stabilise the general price level, prevention of hoarding of goods, protection of customers from exorbitant prices, among others.