ADE NIG. LTD V NATIONAL OIL AND CHEMICAL MARKETING CO. PLC

Issue:

This matter which has now culminated in this Court was commenced by the plaintiffs at the High Court of Lagos State, Ikeja Division where by suit No. ID/657/80, they claimed for the replacement of their Mercedes Benz Petrol Tanker Registration No. EA2219SJ, which was completely burnt down on the 6th day of February, 1988 through the alleged negligence and/or breach of duty of care of the defendants, their servants or agents. This incident, it was further alleged occurred when the plaintiffs' petrol tanker was discharging the fuel with which it was loaded into the second fuel tank located in the defendants' petrol station at Ipokia, Idiroko in the Egbado Local Government Area of Ogun State. Before that event, the defendants had discharged fuel brought by the plaintiffs' petrol tanker into the first of the fuel tanks at the petrol station. It is the case for the plaintiffs that upon the arrival of their petrol tanker at the Petrol Station of the defendants situated and lying at Ipokia, Idiroko in the Egbado Local Government Area of Ogun State on the 6th of February, 1988, the driver of the petrol tanker as has always been the practice, positioned the vehicle at the delivery point, and then handed it over into the possession of the defendants through the petrol attendants on duty. The driver of the petrol tanker then withdrew to one side of the petrol station for the NSCQR VOLUME 18 2004 Page 336 unloading of the fuel brought to the station by the petrol tanker. As I have already mentioned, the petrol tanker then caught fire as it was being offloaded into the fuel tanker of the defendants. But for the intervention of the driver of the petrol tanker, who jumped into the burning tanker and drove it away from the station, the petrol station and its environs would have been totally consumed by the tire. Despite the rescue effort of the driver of the tanker, the tanker was completely burnt. The facts as stated above were not disputed by the defendants. However, what was in dispute and still the main point in this appeal is, what caused the fire, and who was liable for the fire incident. The claims of the plaintiffs found favour with the trial Court which therefore upheld their claims. As the defendants were dissatisfied with that judgment, they appealed to the Court of Appeal (Lagos Division). That Court upheld the appeal in favour of the defendants. As the plaintiffs were not happy with that result they have appealed to the Supreme Court.