Court Affirms Private-Public Partnership Continuity, Dismisses Suit On Benin–Asaba Expressway Project
The Federal High Court in Abuja has struck out a suit filed by the Society of Public Interest Lawyers in Nigeria (SPI-LAW) over the condition of the Benin–Asaba Expressway following the execution of remedial works by…
The Benin–Asaba Expressway, a key artery linking the South-South and South-East regions to Lagos and the federal capital, has for years been notorious for its deplorable state, with potholes, erosion and gridlock making it one of Nigeria's most dreaded highway corridors. To address this, the road was handed over for rehabilitation under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement involving Bua Enterprises and its concessionaire entity, BAECC, with road users and civil society groups frequently raising concerns over the pace and quality of remedial works.
The suit by the Society of Public Interest Lawyers in Nigeria (SPI-LAW) had challenged the conduct of the ongoing construction, but the Federal High Court in Abuja struck it out, effectively allowing the PPP project to continue uninterrupted. What remains unclear from the coverage is the specific legal grounds on which the suit was struck out, whether it was dismissed on merit or on procedural grounds, and what timeline now applies to completion of the remedial works on the expressway.