Malabu Oil & Gas Limited has taken the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, to court, seeking to nullify its deregistration from the official register of companies in Nigeria.
The company, which has been at the center of several ownership disputes, claims the CAC’s action violates the law, given ongoing court cases over its management and ownership.
In the suit filed at the Federal High Court, Abuja, with reference number FHC/ABJ/CS/2137/2025, Malabu, represented by Senior Advocate of Nigeria Reuben Atabo, is asking the court to restore its name to the corporate register under Section 692(6) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020.
It also seeks a perpetual injunction restraining the CAC from further deregistering or striking off its name.
The company argued that since multiple cases concerning its ownership and management are pending before Nigerian courts, it was improper for the CAC to take unilateral action to delist it.
The listed suits include several high-profile matters dating as far back as 2010, some of which the CAC itself is a party to.
Mohammed Abacha, one of the company’s founding directors and son of the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, personally deposed to an affidavit supporting the application.
He recounted how Malabu was incorporated in April 1998 alongside co-founders Kweku Amafagha and Hassan Hindu, and was issued registration number RC 334442.
According to Abacha, Malabu received the license for Oil Prospecting License (OPL) 245 — one of Nigeria’s most controversial oil blocks — from the federal government shortly after incorporation.
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However, he claimed that while he was detained between 1999 and 2002, unauthorized alterations were made to the company’s records at the CAC, changing its shareholding structure and directorship without his consent.
Abacha said he repeatedly petitioned the CAC between 2005 and 2011 to correct the alleged irregularities, but the commission took no action.
He added that the CAC did not provide any notice or publication before deregistering Malabu, in violation of Section 692(3) of CAMA.
Describing the CAC’s action as “unlawful, illegal, null, and void,” Abacha said deregistering Malabu while its affairs remained under judicial consideration was unjust and prejudicial. He urged the court to reverse the action to prevent further harm to the company’s interests.
As of the time of reporting, the Federal High Court had not fixed a hearing date for the case
NAN
