E. O. AYOOLA, JSC (Delivering the Leading Judgment): By an originating summons issued in the Federal High Court on 22nd December, 1999 Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, the appellant, commenced their proceedings from which this appeal arose against:
(i) Lagos State Environmental Agency;
(2) Federal Environmental Protection Agency;
(3) Minister of Environment;
(4) Various defendants whose names were set out in a schedule to the originating summons and are here described as the 4th set of defendants. The reliefs sought by the originating summons were as follows:
"1. A declaration that the 2nd and/or 3rd defendant are by virtue of the schedule II, Part I, Item 29 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 and Sections 20, 21, 23 and 24 of the FEPA Act of 1988, the authorities with exclusive power to determine the liability of the plaintiff with regard to any and all alleged damage arising out of the spill into interstate and/or territorial waters of Nigeria" includi…