FG to Serve Litigation Processes on Tobacco Firm Through Swiss Newspaper

Source from:  Written by Ise-Oluwa Ige Tuesday, 18 March 2008  03/20/2008

Hearing in a multi billion suit slammed by the Federal Government against the Britsh American Tobacco Company and four others was yesterday stalled following a report by government to the effect that one of the principal defendants in the case, Philips Moritz of Switzerland was yet to be served court processes in the case. The government had made spirited efforts more than five times to serve the court processes on Phillip Moritz through courier services but to no avail. Justice Binta Murtala Nyarko who asked if government had explored diplomatic channels to serve the processes has however granted the goverment the permission to serve the court processes through substituted means. She specifically ordered that the processes should be advertised in a well circulated newspapers in Switzerland where the company is based so that trial could go on in the matter. But the British American Tobacco Company yesterday said that it was eager to defend the suit except that the Federal Government had not come up with the facts of its case. According to the company's leading counsel, Mrs Funke Adekoya (SAN), she said BAT would squate up with the government over the issue in contention at the appropriate time. Her words: " We are keeping our gunpowder dry until the facts of the case are made known"At the last adjourned date, the Federal Government had through its counsel, Joseph Daudu SAN, told Justice Binta Murtala-Nyako that he had made attempts to serve Phillip Morris International which is the 5 th defendant in the suit but had not been successful. He said the Switz company refused to accept the court processes from the courier company that took the envelope containing the processes to them. Other defendants in the suit are British American Tobacco Limited, British American Tobacco Company PLC. and British American Tobacco Investment Limited. In the main suit, the federal government is asking for an order compelling the defendants in the suit to cease the marketing, promotion, distribution, and sale of tobacco related products to minors and under-aged persons. The government also asked for an order of mandatory injunction restraining the defendants from representing or portraying to minors or persons under the age of 18, any alluring or misleading image regarding tobacco related product whether by direct depictions, pictorial, advertorials, images, words messages, sponsorship, branding and or through overt or covert and or subliminal means. In the statement of claim, the federal government asked for the following declarations: *A declaration of this honourable court that the tobacco related products are manufactured, marketed, promoted, distributed and sold by the defendants are additive. *A declaration of this honourable court that the tobacco related product as manufactured, marketed, promoted, distributed, promoted and sold by the defendants are harzadous and injurious to the public health. *A declaration of this honourable court that the defendants' conduct as specified herein in the complaint/statement of claim in relation to its misrepresentation and concealment of material facts and other such acts, are reprehensible. The government wants the defendants to pay N1346,250,421,627.39 as special damages occasioned by their conduct It also wants the defendants to pay 130 billion for wrongful conduct. The case has been adjourned to May 19, this year. Enditem