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The Shippers Association Lagos State (SALS) has resumed full activities after the Federal High Court struck out a case that had stalled its operations for nearly a year.
Speaking to journalists in Lagos, the association’s legal counsel, Chief Osuala E. Nwagbara, confirmed that on Friday, August 8 2025, Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court Lagos, dismissed a suit filed by Evangelist Leo Ogamba, ruling that the claimant lacked the legal standing to institute the action.
Ogamba had, in October 2024, sought an injunction and other reliefs against SALS using the name Leochuks Nigeria Limited. However, the court found that the company was not a member of SALS, making the claim invalid.
“The court held that his right to challenge any decision of SALS is derived from the rights of a corporate member. Since the company he used was not a member of the association, he lacked locus standi. No court can indulge a person who is not a member of an association to interfere in its affairs,” Nwagbara explained.
The lawyer said that, acting on his advice, SALS had suspended activities pending the court’s decision to remain law-abiding.
With the case now over, he affirmed that there is “no case in court restraining SALS from carrying out its legitimate objectives, including meetings.”
Nwagbara stressed that SALS remains open to all Nigerians and that preparations are underway to conclude pending activities, including the election of a new leadership.
“I believe they are putting in place modalities to conclude what they started. In a very short time, they will hold their election and have a new executive to continue the association’s normal activities. There is nothing stopping them now,” he said.
The maritime lawyer declined to speculate on whether Ogamba could rejoin the association, saying such a request would be handled according to SALS’s protocols if and when it arises.
Meanwhile, the judgment effectively restores SALS’s ability to engage freely with regulatory agencies and pursue its objectives in Nigeria’s maritime and shipping sector.
News Diet, however, gathered that the association may hold its elections next week.
The press conference was graced by the association’s bigwigs including the President, Princess Fehintola Mulikat; former President, Rev. Jonathan Nicol; among others.
