The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed the ₦100 billion lawsuit filed by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE against the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and others over a fuel import licence dispute.
Justice Mohammed Umar struck out the case after counsel to Dangote Refinery, C. O. Adegbe, applied to withdraw it. Following the withdrawal, lawyers representing the defendants made an oral application for dismissal, which the court granted.
The Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), NNPCL, AYM Shafa Limited, A.A. Rano Limited, T. Time Petroleum Limited, 2015 Petroleum Limited, and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited were listed as defendants in the case.
Dangote Refinery had asked the court to nullify import licences issued by the NMDPRA to NNPCL and the five private companies for the importation of refined petroleum products. It also sought ₦100 billion in damages against the regulatory authority for allegedly continuing to issue such licences despite the existence of local refining capacity.
Meanwhile, NNPCL has revealed plans to raise its equity stake in Dangote Refinery to 20 per cent. Group Chief Executive Officer of the company, Bayo Ojulari, disclosed this at the ongoing Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC).
Ojulari noted that NNPCL was enhancing transparency in preparation for its long-awaited Initial Public Offering (IPO).
“The IPO journey is prescribed by law under the Petroleum Industry Act. We have begun publishing our monthly performance reports since May this year, and that has continued,” he said.
In a related development, members of the National Association of Polytechnic Students (NAPS) staged a protest in Benin City, Edo State, calling on the Federal Government to protect the Dangote Refinery.
The protesters, led by NAPS President, Comrade Eshiofune Paul Oghayan, described the refinery as a symbol of Nigeria’s capacity to refine crude oil locally.
They alleged that elements within PENGASSAN, NUPENG, and DAPMAN were colluding with fuel importation cartels to frustrate the refinery’s operations.
Comrade Oghayan urged the Federal Government to treat any sabotage against the refinery as “economic terrorism” and to guarantee full crude oil supply to the facility.
“If we feed the refinery fully, it will crash fuel prices, strengthen the Naira, and stop the bleeding of foreign exchange,” he said.
He commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for approving a 15 per cent cut in fuel importation but insisted that the measure was insufficient.
“Nigeria must refine what we use. We demand national priority for locally refined fuel in government procurement, transport, aviation, power, and military sectors,” he added.
