Facts:

Facts:
The 1st respondent is an agency of the federal government established to enter
into agreements with persons who carry on shipping business and make use of
port facilities, and to negotiate all reviews, modification or increase of local shipping
charges payable by importers and exporters. The appellants are persons offering
shipping services to various categories of clients and make use of the Nigerian
Port facilities. The 1st respondent, in October 2013, issued a notice compelling
the appellants to revert to a tariff regime to take effect from the 3rd of November,
2014. It also issued a directive stating that the SLAC (Shipping Lines Agency
Charge) which hitherto had been collected from clients by the appellants, is
illegal and directed that it be stopped and all such charges collected in the past
be accounted for and paid into the Cargo Defence Fund of the 1st respondent.
The appellants were aggrieved with the notice and directive of the 1st respondent
and consequently filed an action at the Federal High Court, Lagos Division vide
an originating summons urging the court to interpret the relevant laws setting up
the 1st respondent and to make an interim order restraining the 1st respondent
from implementing the new rates. The appellants further alleged that by the
enabling laws creating the Nigerian Shippers Council, the 1st respondent cannot
unilaterally, without consultation with the appellant, fix any rate or levy with respect
to the usage of ports facilities. The court granted the interim application and in
the course of the proceedings ordered that the 2nd respondent be joined after it
made the application for joinder. The parties filed their respective briefs and the
respondents filed a counter claim to the action of the appellants. The 1st respondent
stated that it acted pursuant to its appointment as the economic regulator of the
Nigerian Port. After hearing the parties, the trial court dismissed the originating
summons of the appellants on the ground that the action was hypothetical and academic.
The appellants were dissatisfied with the decision of the trial court and filed a
Notice of appeal at the Court of Appeal Lagos Division. One of the issues raised
for determination was whether the lower court was right for dismissing the
appellant’s suit having regard to the provision of section 3(f) of the Nigerian
Shippers’ Council Act, 2004 the Regulations and the purported appointment of
the 1st respondent as economic regulator of the Nigerian Ports.