A court grants an order of injunction at its discretion as an
equitable relief either to protect the rights of the applicant or
preserve the subject matter of a dispute pending the determination
of a case (Anthony v. Surveyor-General, Ogun State (2007)
ALL FWLR (Pt. 354) 375 at 390. Although the Courts also
have the powers to grant mandatory injunctions, our focus here is
to consider the powers of the court to grant preservative orders
pending the hearing and determination of an arbitration
proceeding.
A comparison between the provisions of the English
Arbitration Act, 1996 (the "English Arbitration
Act") vis-à-vis the provisions of the
Arbitration and Conciliation Act, Cap A.18, Laws of the Federation
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004 ("the
Arbitration and Conciliation Act") together with a review of
Nigerian judicial authorities aids in establishing whether or not
Nigerian Courts have and exercise the powers to grant injunctive
reliefs pending arbitration.
