The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed the ₦100 billion suit filed by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE against the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and others over oil import licences.
Justice Mohammed Umar dismissed the case on Wednesday after Dangote’s counsel, C.O. Adegbe, withdrew it, prompting defence lawyers to ask for a dismissal instead of a strikeout.
The case, which had earlier been reassigned from Justice Inyang Ekwo to Justice Umar, involved the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), NNPCL, and five oil marketing firms AYM Shafa, A.A. Rano, T. Time Petroleum, 2015 Petroleum, and Matrix Petroleum.
Dangote had sought to nullify import licences issued by NMDPRA to the defendants and demanded ₦100 billion in damages, claiming the approvals violated the Petroleum Industry Act. However, defence lawyers argued that the refinery’s move to withdraw the case was a tactic to refile after reviewing its weak claims, urging the court to dismiss it outright.
In his ruling, Justice Umar held that since issues had already been joined and hearing scheduled, the matter was ripe for dismissal. He, however, declined to award costs, stating, “The matter is hereby dismissed without cost.”
The NNPCL and NMDPRA had earlier maintained that the suit was incompetent, with NNPCL arguing that the refinery’s claims disclosed no valid cause of action and that it had been wrongly sued.