Abuja court dismisses NNPC objection to N100m Dangote Refinery suit, adjourns case to May 6
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
A court has dismissed objection raised by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) against the N100 billion suit filed by Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE against the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) over the issuance of import licences to five oil companies.
Dangote Refinery asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to void the import licences issued to the NNPC, Matrix Petroleum Services, A. A. Rano Limited, and four other firms.
The refinery argued that the import licences should be voided on the grounds that it is producing the petroleum products imported by these companies without shortfalls.
Dangote Refinery is seeking N100 billion in damages against the NMDPRA for allegedly continuing to issue import licences to the same companies to import petroleum products such as Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) and Jet Fuel, “despite the production of AGO and Jet-A1 that exceeds the current daily consumption of petroleum products in Nigeria by the Dangote Refinery.”
Other defendants in the suit are NMDPRA, Aym Shafa Limited, T. Time Petroleum Limited, and 2015 Petroleum Limited.
The plaintiff, in its originating summons dated 6 September 2024, through its lawyer, Ogwu Onoja SAN, asked the court to declare that the NMDPRA is violating Sections 317(8) and (9) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) by issuing licences for the importation of petroleum products sufficiently produced locally.
Onoja argued that such licences should only be issued where there is a petroleum product shortfall and urged the court to declare that the NMDPRA violates its statutory responsibilities under the PIA for not encouraging local refineries such as Dangote Refinery.
However, the NNPC objected to the suit and demanded its dismissal on the grounds that the court lacks jurisdiction to hear and determine the case.
In the alternative, NNPCL asked Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo to remove its name from the suit on various grounds.
Among others, the NNPCL claimed that
- Its real name is the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and not Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited as stated in the suit by Dangote Refinery.
- The suit was premature at the time it was filed and that it disclosed no reasonable cause of action for the court to consider.
But the Judge disagreed with the NNPC, explaining that a mere error in the spelling of its name cannot cause any doubt about its identity.
He ordered that Dangote Refinery, represented by Ibrahim George SAN, should amend its originating summons to reflect the correct name of the entity.
The court fixed May 6 for further mention of the suit.
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