Oil and Gas firm Eroton challenges appointment of Administrator, cites jurisdictional issues
By Onyewuchi Ojinnaka
An oil and gas firm Eroton Exploration and Production Limited has commenced a legal battle at the Federal High Court Lagos, seeking to halt the execution of interim orders made on January 20 and 29, 2026 which placed it under an administrator.
Eroton through its lawyers, Dr. Joseph Nwobike (SAN), leading Collins Ogbonna, Esq., of Osborne Law Practice, has asked the Federal High Court in Lagos to stay all actions arising from said interim ex parte orders made on January 20 and 29, 2026, pending determination of its applications challenging both the legality of the court’s orders and its jurisdiction over the matter.
The oil and gas company has filed three separate applications: a Motion on Notice to set aside the interim orders and restrain their execution; a Notice of Preliminary Objection challenging the court’s jurisdiction; and a substantive motion seeking a stay of execution and injunctions to preserve the status quo.
These applications filed by Eroton aim to suspend the administration process until the court resolves questions about its authority to hear the case.
The dispute stems from proceedings initiated by the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), which prompted the court to issue the interim orders and appoint Mr. Amala Umeike, an insolvency practitioner, as Administrator of Eroton.
Following the orders, Umeike issued notices to management, including a letter dated February 6, 2026, convening a management meeting for February 11 at Stren & Blan Partners in Lagos.
In the applications , Eroton contends that the Federal High Court lacks jurisdiction to entertain the suit or make the interim orders.
In its processes dated February 9, 2026, the company argued that the orders were issued without full and frank disclosure of material facts, adding that the initiating party is not a juristic entity capable of seeking administration under Sections 450 and 868 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020.
In an affidavit sworn by Felix Deckon, a Senior Litigation Officer at Osborne Law Practice, Eroton averred that the interim orders is capable of disrupting operations.
Deckon described the company as an indigenous oil and gas producer that operated OML 18 in the Niger Delta between 2015 and 2023, achieving significant growth and holding a Petroleum Prospecting Licence valid until 2038.
The company is therefore seeking orders restraining LIRS, and the purported Administrator, from acting on the interim orders.
It also wants the court to cancel all actions already taken by the purported Administrator.
Eroton argued that once jurisdiction is challenged, the court must first determine that issue, and that any further action without resolution would prejudice the company’s rights.
The court processes filed by Eroton’s counsel stressed that the court’s inherent powers allow it to reverse actions already taken, prevent abuse of process, and preserve judicial integrity.
No date has yet been fixed for hearing of the motions.
