Lukman Olabiyi
Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court, Lagos, has restrained the Lagos and Ogun states government from disrupting the business of lottery companies for allegedly operating without the states’ licenses.
Apart from the two state governments, the court also restrained the Inspector General of Police (IGP), commissioners of Police in Lagos and Ogun, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Department of State Services (DSS) from arresting lottery operators or sealing up their offices on the basis that they have no state licenses.
Plaintiffs in the suit were Western Lotto Nigeria Ltd and Wesco Pools & Lottery Ltd while, respondents are the Lagos and Ogun states Attorneys-General, the Lagos State Lottery Board, the Ogun State Internal Revenue Service, the IGP, commissioners of Police in Lagos and Ogun, the EFCC and the DSS.
The plaintiffs had approached the court, praying it to determine whether in view of subsisting and binding judgments of the Federal High Court, the defendants can close down their businesses for not obtaining licenses from the states despite having been granted nationwide permits/licences by the National Lottery Regulatory Commission.
Delivering his judgment, Justice Idris the respondents’ objections and granted the two prayers in the plaintiffs’ originating summons.
The court held that it would be illegal to shut down lottery businesses on the basis that they have not obtained additional licenses having been earlier licensed by the Federal Government.
“A declaration that the defendants or any combination of them may not take any steps whatsoever whether by closure, arrests, detentions, sealing off, or howsoever designed, to disrupt, close down or otherwise impede the lottery business of the plaintiffs.”, the court declared.
The judge held that having been granted national permits, the defendants cannot close down such businesses “for reason that the plaintiffs have not obtained additional license to operate their lottery business..”
Justice Idris granted an order restraining the defendants or their agents from disrupting the plaintiffs’ business in any manner having been given national licenses pursuant to the National Lottery Act of 2005.
The plaintiffs, in a supporting affidavit, said a tussle over supremacy between the states and the NLRC was resolved by two earlier judgments of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
“Both decisions were arrived at on the basis that the National Lottery Act had covered the field and the states’ legislation on the same subject must give way,” the plaintiffs said.
According to them, despite the judgments, the defendants had been “threatening” to use the Police, DSS and EFCC “to carry out raids on the business premises of the plaintiffs in Lagos and Ogun states and take other action designed to disrupt their lottery businesses”.