HULL BLYTH NIGERIA LIMITED V. JETMOVE PUBLISHING LIMITED

JOSEPH SHAGBAOR IKYEGH, JCA (DELIVERING THE LEADING JUDGMENT):The appeal is from the decision of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos (the Court below) whereby it refused to strike out the action for want of jurisdiction and to stay proceedings in the action for damages arising from a transaction with respect to a jurisdiction clause in bill of lading upon which goods were shipped abroad to Nigeria.

Briefly rendered, the respondent sued the appellant at the Court below claiming damages of N9,110,400,00 being the value of the loss sustained by the respondent from consignment of Bibles in a container shipped from Minsk in Belarus en route to Nigeria which were said to have been soaked with water and damaged on arrival at Lagos, Nigeria.

The appellant challenged the action in limine by motion on notice requesting the Court below to strike out the action for want of jurisdiction and/or for an order staying further proceedings in the action and referring the dispute to Hamburg Courts in G…