NNPC Finally Responds to Dangote’s Lawsuit, Speaks on Revoking Import License

• NNPC Limited petitioned a federal high court in Abuja to dismiss a case filed by Dangote Petroleum Refinery to cancel its import license
• The NNPC's notice of preliminary objection, filed by its legal team under Kehinde Ogunwumiju's supervision, states that the case is premature
• In the interest of justice, it also asked the court to grant the application, arguing that the claim is incompetent and should be dismissed

Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has 5 years of experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.

A federal high court in Abuja has been petitioned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Dangote Petroleum Refinery to revoke its import license.

The complaint is premature, according to the NNPC's notice of preliminary objection, which was submitted by its legal staff under the direction of Kehinde Ogunwumiju.

NAN reports that on November 15, the application, designated FHC/ABJ/CS/1324/2024, was submitted before the presiding judge, Inyang Ekwo.

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The national oil firm sought an order striking out the claim for lack of jurisdiction and also urged the court to strike out the name of the second defendant (NNPC) from the suit.

The NNPC stated the Dangote refinery lacked locus standi to institute the suit.

“The plaintiff’s suit is premature. The plaintiff’s suit discloses no cause of action. The 2nd defendant is not a competent party. The plaintiff’s suit is incompetent. This honourable court lacks the jurisdiction to hear this suit,” NNPC said.

In the affidavit supporting the application, Isiaka Popoola, a clerk in the Afe Babalola & Co law firm and the NNPC's counsel, stated that one of their attorneys, Esther Longe, had read Dangote's original summons, affidavit, and written address and informed him that the NNPC which the refinery was suing was a "non-existent entity."

Popoola contended that the second defendant, who was sued as NNPC, was outside the court's jurisdiction.

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“This 2nd defendant in this suit as consistently seen on the face of the plaintiff’s originating summons, the affidavit in support and the written address as Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC),” he said.

“A simple search on the CAC website shows that there is no entity called “Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC).

“The print out of the said search is hereby attached and marked as Exhibit A.

“The registered name of the 2nd defendant/objector is Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and this is the only name it can be sued by.”

According to the attorney, NNPC, whom the refinery is suing, is neither a competent party nor a legal person.

In the interest of justice, Popoola asked the court to grant the application, arguing that the claim is incompetent and should be dismissed.

A federal high court in Abuja was asked by three oil marketers to dismiss the Dangote refinery's lawsuit which sought to have the dealers' licenses revoked.

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The marketers were AYM Shafa Limited, A. A. Rano Limited, and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited.

The Dangote refinery had requested that import licenses granted to Nigeria NNPC Limited, Matrix Petroleum Services Limited, A. A. Rano Limited, and four other businesses be revoked by a federal high court in Abuja.

In order to prove that the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) had violated Sections 317(8) and (9) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) by granting licenses for the importation of petroleum products, the company had petitioned the court.

The Dangote refinery announced later on October 21 that it intends to drop the litigation, which has been pending since June, in January 2025.

Group criticises NNPC over fuel importation

Legit.ng reported that the administration of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has come under heavy criticism from the Coalition for Economic Liberation and Transformation (CELT) for putting fuel imports ahead of domestic refining.

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The group stated that in just 42 days, the importation of petroleum products led to N3 trillion in petrolem import expenses.

The coalition claims that Nigeria imported 1.5 million metric tonnes, or two billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), 414,018 metric tonnes, or 500 million litres, of petrol, 13,500 metric tonnes, or 17 million litres, of aviation fuel, between October 1 and November 11.

Proofread by Kola Muhammed, journalist and copyeditor at Legit.ng

Source: Legit.ng