Court declares Lagos govt toll collection on bridge illegal

A Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday declared as illegal the collection of toll on the newly constructed Lekki-Ikoyi Suspension Bridge.
While delivering judgement in a suit by human rights activist and lawyer, Mr. Ebun Olu Adegboruwa, against the Lagos state government, Justice Saliu Saidu, ruled that there was no existing law permitting the collection of toll on the bridge.

The Attorney- General of the Federation and the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) were joined as first and second respondents, while the Attorney-General of Lagos state and the Lagos state government were third and fourth respondents.

Justice Saidu said: “The counter affidavit of the third and fourth respondents and the response of the first and second respondents have answered most of the questions before the court.

“The second respondent (NIWA) is the only Federal Agency to form and regulate navigable waterways in the country in line with the NIWA Act. The applicant did not contest this issue but only goes further to raise the issue of collection of toll from the subject matter.”
Continuing, he said: “The third respondent tried to justify the collection of such toll in paragraph 26 of their counter affidavit by stating that when the bridge is erected, its proceeds would be applied to the consolidated revenue fund of the Lagos state government.

“The question now is has the Lagos state government made the appropriate law to enable her collect such toll on the bridge?
“The third respondent only cited Sections 27, 28 and 29 of the Lagos state Public Private Partnership Law 2011, as making provision for the collection of revenue.”
He added: “There is nothing before me to show that the subject matter in this case was as a result of any Public Private Partnership law to enable the law of 2011 to be extended.

The fact before this court is that the bridge was built with the third respondent’s money.
“I agree and uphold the construction of the bridge and the power of the Lagos State government to generate revenue there from but the existing law does not cover it.  I therefore hold that the third respondent can only make a law to that effect before it can collect toll on the Lekki-Ikoyi Bridge.”
Adegboruwa filed the suit on November 26, 2012, for a declaration that the Lagos state government had no authority to erect a bridge on the Lagos Lagoon categorised by law as federal navigable waterways.