The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s (NNPCL) attempt to halt a N100 billion import license lawsuit filed by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE.
Justice Inyang Ekwo delivered the ruling after considering arguments from the legal teams of Dangote Refinery, NNPCL, and other involved parties. The judge declared NNPCL’s preliminary objection invalid, citing a failure to submit a counter-affidavit against Dangote Refinery’s claims and a breach of Order 16 of the Federal High Court rules.
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The dispute arises from Dangote Refinery’s assertion that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) unlawfully granted import licenses to NNPCL, Matrix Petroleum Services Limited, A.A. Rano Limited, and other companies despite sufficient domestic production to meet Nigeria’s consumption needs. According to the refinery, this action contravenes Sections 317(8) and (9) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which restricts import licenses to situations where there is a verified supply shortfall.
In response, NNPCL argued that only NMDPRA and NNPCL possess the authority to assess supply shortfalls. Furthermore, NNPCL claimed Dangote Refinery lacked the legal standing to sue and pointed out a technical error in the lawsuit, where “Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation” was named instead of “Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.”
Justice Ekwo rejected NNPCL’s objections and approved Dangote Refinery’s request to correct the naming error in its filings. He affirmed that allowing the amendment would not result in any injustice to NNPCL, paving the way for the case to proceed.
This ruling represents a crucial development in the broader legal contest over Nigeria’s petroleum import practices and the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act.
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