A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Tuesday dismissed an application by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), which sought to query the court’s jurisdiction to hear a case brought against it by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE.
The court found the application to be lacking in merit.
The lawsuit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1324/2024, aims to invalidate the licenses issued by the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
These licenses permitted the NNPCL and other marketers to import refined petroleum products, including Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) and Jet Fuel (aviation turbine fuel), into Nigeria.
In the suit, Dangote Refinery argued that it was wrong for the NMDPRA to issue importation licenses when there is no shortage of locally produced refined products.
Naija News reports that the plaintiff seeks to prevent the NMDPRA from issuing or renewing import licenses for petroleum products, especially since the local production capabilities are sufficient.
In addition to challenging the issuance of these licenses, Dangote Refinery has demanded a N100 billion damage award from the NMDPRA for issuing these importation licenses.
The refinery also seeks an order to stop the NMDPRA from issuing further licenses to companies like AYM Shafa Limited, A. A. Rano Limited, T. Time Petroleum Limited, 2015 Petroleum Limited, and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited, who are also defendants in the case.
Before the matter could be heard, NNPCL filed a preliminary objection challenging the competence of the suit. The corporation argued that the plaintiff had sued a non-existent party, pointing out that what was listed as the 2nd defendant in the suit, ‘NNPC’, was no longer in existence following its reorganization into NNPCL.
NNPCL contended that the suit was “premature” and lacked jurisdiction, requesting the court to strike its name from the suit and dismiss the case altogether.
The NNPCL insisted that the plaintiff lacked the legal standing (locus standi) to file the suit in the first place.
However, in his ruling, Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court dismissed the objection raised by NNPCL, ruling that it lacked merit.
Furthermore, the court granted an application by Dangote Refinery to amend the suit to reflect the proper name of the NNPCL as the defendant, instead of the now-defunct NNPC.
In a related ruling, the court also dismissed an application by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), which sought to be joined as a defendant in the case.
The court ruled that the FCCPC was neither a relevant nor necessary party in the dispute and that the case could proceed effectively without its inclusion.
