The Lagos State High Court sitting in the Yaba/Surulere Judicial Division has struck out a $250,000 loan recovery suit filed by Dajo Oil Nigeria Limited against businessman, Chief Razak Akanni Okoya, and Rao Investment Property Company Limited after upholding a preliminary objection challenging the competence of the action.
Justice Olufunke Sule-Amzat delivered the ruling in a suit marked LD/S226GCM/2021, holding that the action filed in 2021 was statute-barred under the limitation law of Lagos State.
The court ruled that it lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter and consequently struck out the claims against the 1st and 2nd defendants.
The suit was challenged through a preliminary objection filed by the 2nd defendant/applicant (Chief Okoya), who urged the court to dismiss the action and grant any further orders it deemed appropriate in the circumstances.
In the objection, the applicant argued that the originating processes filed by the claimant failed to disclose any interaction whatsoever between the claimant and the 1st and 2nd defendants.
According to the applicant, there was no agreement, communication, authorisation or transaction executed by the 2nd defendant that could establish any form of relationship between the claimant and the 1st defendant.
The 2nd defendant further contended that the processes before the court did not reveal any link connecting it to the claims brought by the claimant.
It maintained that it could not be held liable for any alleged contractual obligations involving the 1st or 3rd defendants, particularly as both entities remain going concerns and capable of bearing their own liabilities.
The applicant also submitted that the claimant failed to disclose any reasonable cause of action against the 2nd defendant or the other parties joined in the suit.
In addition, the 2nd defendant argued that the action was statute-barred, having been instituted more than 12 years after the alleged cause of action arose.
The objection also challenged the claimant’s locus standi to institute and prosecute the suit against the 1st and 2nd defendants.
Based on these arguments, the applicant described the suit as frivolous and urged the court to dismiss it with substantial costs.
The defendants further informed the court that the claimant had previously filed a similar action before the Lagos High Court under suit marked LD/1361/2007, seeking the same reliefs.
That earlier suit, they stated, was struck out on July 15, 2008, by Justice B.A. Oke-Lawal for want of diligent prosecution.
They argued that the present suit, filed in 2021, came about 13 years after the earlier case was struck out and was therefore caught by the limitation law.
The court consequently upheld the preliminary objection and struck out the suit.