Facts:

The 2nd appellant is a ship while the 3rd appellant is the owner of the 2nd appellant. The 1st appellant, a company registered in Nigeria, is an agent/or representative of the 2nd and 3rd defendants for the purpose of cargo freighting business in Nigeria. The respondents are consignees of lost goods, which formed the subject matter of this suit. The respondents delivered 1 x 20 ft containers of treated onion to the appellant for carriage by sea from Tin Can Island Port, Nigeria to the Port of Abidjan in Cote D’Ivoire for consideration. The 1st appellant, as 1st defendant in the trial court, averred in its statement of defence the steps taken by it to preserve the consignment in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire, including, payment of demurrage on the goods, payment of electricity and monitoring charges.

On the 11th day of March, 1996, the respondents, as plaintiffs, in the trial court commenced an action in rem in the Federal High Court, Lagos Division against the appellants for a total sum of 34,389,910.00 (Four Million, three hundred and eighty nine thousand, nine hundred and ten naira) being special and general damages for an alleged breach of contract of carriage