Court Dismisses N100bn Dangote Refinery Suit Against NNPCL

The Federal High Court in Abuja has struck out a ₦100 billion lawsuit filed by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE against the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and several others over the issuance of fuel import licences.

Justice Mohammed Umar dismissed 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 defendants in the case included 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.

Dangote Refinery had asked the court to invalidate import licences issued by NMDPRA to NNPCL and the five other companies for the importation of refined petroleum products.

It also sought ₦100 billion in damages, accusing the regulatory agency of undermining domestic refining by continuing to issue such licences.

Meanwhile, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Bayo Ojulari, announced plans by the company to increase its stake in the Dangote Refinery to 20 per cent.

Speaking at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC), Ojulari said the move aligns with NNPCL’s efforts to enhance transparency as it prepares for an eventual initial public offering (IPO).

“The IPO journey is by law. The PIA (Petroleum Industry Act) prescribes for NNPCL to journey towards achieving IPO. It’s not an option for us. We have begun to publish our monthly performance since May this year and that has continued,” Ojulari stated, without providing a specific timeline for the IPO.

READ ALSO: Court Dismisses Dangote Refinery’s ₦100bn Suit Against NNPCL

In a related development, protesters under the banner of the National Association of Polytechnic Students (NAPS) took to the streets of Benin City, Edo State, calling on the Federal Government to protect Dangote Refinery from what they described as economic sabotage.

Led by NAPS National President, Comrade Eshiofune Paul Oghayan, the demonstrators described the refinery as a national asset and a symbol of Nigeria’s capacity for domestic crude refining.

Oghayan alleged that certain interests within PENGASSAN, NUPENG, and DAPMAN were colluding with fuel importation cartels to frustrate the refinery’s operations.

He urged the Federal Government to guarantee uninterrupted crude oil supply to the refinery, saying, “Any sabotage against the refinery must be treated as economic terrorism.”

“If we feed the refinery fully, it will crash fuel prices, strengthen the Naira, and stop the bleeding of foreign exchange. We call on the Federal Government to halt the importation of fuel entirely.

“While we appreciate the 15% slash in fuel importation approved by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, we insist that half-measures cannot deliver full recovery.

“Nigeria must refine what we use.

“We demand national priority for locally refined fuel in government procurement, transport, aviation, power and military sectors.

“We urge Mr. President to dismantle the importation cartel and support genuine national industrialization,” it added.