Ise-Oluwa Ige
22 October 2008
A Federal high court sitting in Abuja yesterday ordered Western Atlas International Nigeria Limited to pay N1.5million fine into the coffers of the Federal Government within 30 days for illegal movement and disposal of toxic waste in the country.
The presiding high court judge, Justice G . O. Kolawole issued the order after convicting the international company on a 4-count charge of flagrant violation of Nuclear Safety and Radiation laws with relation to the movement of the toxic substance.
The court slammed a N500,000, N500,000 and another N250,000 fines respectively against Western Atlas which pleaded guilty to counts one, two and three of the 4-count charge.
Although Western Atlas also pleaded guilty to count four which attracted seven year jail term without an option of fine, the court said it was impossible to send a corporate entity to prison.
Justice Kolawole however said where a corporate person had pleaded guilty to an offence attracting jail term without an option of fine as it was in the instant case, he said the proper thing for the judge to do was to use his discretion.
He said that in that regard, he would also award a fine of N250,000 against the convicted corporate person for pleading guilty to count four.
But four of the convict's officials charged by the Federal Government alongside others were also discharged and acquitted after accepting liability for the offence against them on behalf of their company.
They include Taiwo Akinokun, Samuel Ndahbros, Azuka Onianwa and Blessing Nwaogu.
The court also discharged and acquitted, yesterday, the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and all its five officials charged by the Federal Government before the same court with similar charge.
The Shell officials include Basil Ofoise Omiyi, Babatunde Oribido, Maxwell Weeksee, Moses Edaje and Joseph Kintum.
Nine other accused persons including corporate entities charged alongside Western Atlas and Shell Petroleum were also yesterday discharged and acquitted.
The nine others include O and X Nigeria Limited, Julius Joram, Wayles International Services, Oyibo Afeyebo, C and E Global Nigeria Limited, Do-Good Philips, Isaac Akpolaro and Efe Aoriadajiwhe.
They were discharged following withdrawal of the charge against them. The withdrawal of 22 counts of the 26-point charge preferred against all the accused persons and the judgment entered in the matter yesterday were outcomes of a plea bargain entered into by the convicts.
It would be recalled that the Federal Government had dragged the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and twenty others before the Abuja division of the Federal high court for allegedly violating Nuclear Safety and Radiation laws.
Others facing trial with Shell Petroleum were five of its staff with C and E Global Limited, Western Atlas and ED Wales.
The Federal Government slammed a 27-count charge against them which in the main alleged that they carried and transported radio
active from Port-Harcourt in Rivers state to Warri in Delta without requisite authorization from the regulatory agency.
In the charge filed before the court with registration number FHC/ABJ/CR/30/2007 on March 22 2007, the accused are said to have allegedly conspired between September 9 and October 9, 2006 to carry, transport, handle, store and transfer the radio active sources to an unauthorized person.
The Director of Public Prosecution [DPP] who signed the criminal information said all the accused persons failed to obtain requisite clearance from the Department of the State Services, contrary to section 14(2) of the Nigerian Transportation of Radioactive Sources
Regulations 2006 .
The criminal information further disclosed that Western Atlas among others , " transported radioactive sources ( namely one neutron source ,
Am - Be with serial No 48474, one density, Cs- 137with serial No 969, one neutron verifier Am-Be with serial No D-311 , two density verifier Cs -137 with serial Nos V- 1008 and v-1031, one Gamma ray-rig , Ra -226 with serial No WA-644) from Port Harcourt to Warri in violation of section 77 of the Nigerian Basic Ionization Radiation regulations 2003 and section 41 of the nuclear safety and radiation protection Act 1995."
Their actions, according to the charge, constituted an offence under section 516 of the criminal Code Act Cap 77 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990.
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