Nigerian law: ExxonMobil loses again at Industrial Court
The National Industrial Court of Nigeria sitting in Lagos today reaffirmed its earlier ruling that Exxon Mobil Corporation must subject itself to Nigerian law while operating in the country.
Delivering judgment in a legal objection seeking to stop trial in a case brought against the corporation and its subsidiary, Mobil Producing Nigerian Unlimited by their former public and government affairs executive Mr. Paul Arinze, the Judge, Justice Esonwe ruled that ExxonMobil must be joined in the case as a co-defendant and co-employer of the claimant.
Mr. Arinze had sued both ExxonMobil and Mobil Producing Nigeria, when the companies, initially claiming wrongful use of internal processes to discriminate against Nigerian employees, and subsequently for alleged malicious disengagement.
In their initial response, counsel to ExxonMobil Professor Fabian Ajogwu, had sought to convince the court to exclude ExxonMobil from the case, arguing that the Corporation is not incorporated in Nigeria. The National Industrial Court then held that having a multilayered structure with shell companies in offshore havens does not relieve ExxonMobil from being sued in Nigeria along with its subsidiary, a ruling that the corporation is seeking to appeal, and to stop the hearing until their proposed appeal has been heard.
Counsel to the claimant, Emeka Ozoani, SAN, however argued that seeking leave of an appeal court to file an appeal against a judgement of a competent court is not sufficient ground to delay the case itself, especially since the leave to appeal has not been granted and is in fact being actively opposed by the claimant. He further cited three other previous rulings against ExxonMobil on the same type of objection, two of which was in the same court and one at the Supreme Court.
Dismissing ExxonMobil’s objection, the Judge upheld the argument of the defendant that delaying the hearing amounts to injustice and set March 4 for hearing of the case by the claimant against both Mobil Producing Nigeria and Exxon Mobil Corporation.
This ruling effectively reaffirms the judicial precedent that multinational companies operating in Nigeria are subject to Nigerian law, despite their multilevel corporate structures by which they may seek to distance themselves from their subsidiaries.
It would be recalled that in February last year a federal court had granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission a warrant to arrest the Managing Director of ExxonMobil’s subsidiary Mr. Richard Liang for refusing three successive invitations by investigators into the company’s pipeline-related dealings.
