• NNPC Limited has asked a federal high court in Abuja to dismiss a case filed by Dangote Oil Refinery to cancel its import license
• NNPC’s notice of preliminary objection, filed by its legal team under the supervision of Kehinde Ogunwumiju, says the case is premature
• In the interest of justice, he also requested the court to admit the application, arguing that the application is incompetent and should be dismissed.

Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has 5 years of experience in economics, technology and capital markets.

A Federal High Court in Abuja has been asked by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to dismiss a suit filed by Dangote Petroleum Refinery to revoke its import licence.

The complaint is premature, according to the NNPC’s notice of preliminary objection, which was filed by its legal staff led by Kehinde Ogunwumiju.

NAN reports that on November 15, the application, designated FHC/ABJ/CS/1324/2024, was filed before the presiding judge, Inyang Ekwo.

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The national oil company sought an order dismissing the application for lack of jurisdiction and also asked the court to strike the name of the second defendant (NNPC) from the suit.

The NNPC declared the Dangote Refinery lacking locus standi to institute the process.

“The plaintiff’s trial is premature. Plaintiff’s suit discloses no cause of action. The 2nd defendant is not a competent party. The plaintiff’s lawsuit is incompetent. This honorable court has no jurisdiction to hear this suit,” the NNPC said.

In the affidavit supporting the application, Isiaka Popoola, a clerk at law firm Afe Babalola & Co and counsel to NNPC, said one of their lawyers, Esther Longe, read the summons, affidavit and initial written address of Dangote and informed him that NNPC that the refinery was suing was a “non-existent entity”.

Popoola argued that the second defendant, who was sued as NNPC, was outside the jurisdiction of the court.

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“This second defendant in this suit as consistently seen on the face of the plaintiff’s original summons, affidavit in support and written address as Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC),” he said .

“A simple search on the CAC website shows that there is no entity called “Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC).

“The printout of this search is attached and marked as Exhibit A.

“The registered name of the second defendant/objector is Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and that is the only name under which it can be sued.”

According to the lawyer, NNPC, which the refinery is suing, is neither a competent party nor a legal entity.

In the interest of justice, Popoola asked the court to grant the application, arguing that the application is incompetent and should be dismissed.

A federal high court in Abuja was requested by three oil marketers to dismiss Dangote Refinery’s suit seeking the revoking of dealers’ licences.

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The distributors were AYM Shafa Limited, AA Rano Limited and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited.

Dangote Refinery applied for import licences Nigeria NNPC Limited, Matrix Petroleum Services Limited, AA Rano Limited and four other enterprises will be struck down by a federal high court in Abuja.

To demonstrate that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has contravened Sections 317(8) and (9) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) by granting licenses to import petroleum products, the company has filed a petition court.

Dangote Refinery later announced on October 21 that it intends to drop the dispute, which has been pending since June, in January 2025.

The group criticizes NNPC for importing fuel

Legit.ng reported that the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has come under heavy criticism from the Coalition for Economic Liberation and Transformation (CELT) because fuel imports before domestic refining.

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The group stated that in just 42 days, the importation of petroleum products has resulted in an oil import expenditure of N3 trillion.

The coalition claims that Nigeria imported 1.5 million metric tons or two billion liters of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), 414,018 metric tons or 500 million liters of gasoline, 13,500 metric tons or 17 million liters of aviation fuel during October. November 1 and 11.

Source: Legit.ng