The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed the ₦100 billion suit filed by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE against the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL,and others over an oil import licence dispute.
Justice Mohammed Umar dismissed the case on Wednesday following an oral application by the defence lawyers, after Dangote’s counsel, C.O. Adegbe, withdrew the suit.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the matter, which was previously before Justice Inyang Ekwo, began afresh after being reassigned to Justice Umar.
Dangote Refinery had dragged the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, and the NNPCL as first and second defendants, along with AYM Shafa Limited, A.A. Rano Limited, T. Time Petroleum Limited, 2015 Petroleum Limited, and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited as co-defendants.
The refinery had sought to nullify import licences issued by NMDPRA to the NNPCL and five other oil companies for importing refined petroleum products. It also demanded ₦100 billion in damages against NMDPRA for allegedly violating the Petroleum Industry Act by continuing to issue import licences despite local refining capacity.
At Wednesday’s proceedings, Adegbe informed the court that her client had filed a notice of discontinuance on July 28 and requested that the suit be struck out.
Counsel for NMDPRA, I.B. Ahmad, did not oppose the withdrawal but urged the court to dismiss the case outright. Other defence lawyers including Chris Ekemezie representing AYM Shafa, A.A. Rano, and Matrix Petroleum, and Mofesomo Tayo-Oyetibo (SAN) for T. Time and 2015 Petroleum also argued that dismissal, rather than striking out, was the appropriate legal outcome since the matter had advanced to the hearing stage.
Ekemezie told the court,
“It seems what the plaintiff plans to do is to panel-beat its case and return after seeing that it is weak. We urge my lord to dismiss the case with cost.”
Although Adegbe disagreed, claiming an understanding had been reached for the case to be struck out, Justice Umar ruled to dismiss the suit without cost.
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“The case on record shows that parties have joined issues and what remains is adoption of their processes. Since the plaintiff came for withdrawal at this stage, the matter is deemed dismissed,” the judge held.
Earlier, Dangote Refinery had argued that the NMDPRA breached Sections 317(8) and (9) of the PIA, which allow import licences only when local production falls short of demand.
However, the NNPCL and NMDPRA countered that Dangote’s suit was premature, unmeritorious, and incompetent, insisting the refinery had yet to produce enough petroleum products to meet national needs.
In its affidavit, NNPCL’s counsel from Afe Babalola & Co. argued that the suit was invalid because the refinery sued a non-existent entity “Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited” instead of “Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.”
Similarly, NMDPRA’s affidavit stressed that import licences were issued to bridge supply shortfalls and to prevent market monopoly, aligning with the regulatory agency’s mandate to promote competition and ensure product availability.
Oil marketers named in the case AYM Shafa, A.A. Rano, and Matrix warned that granting Dangote’s request would “spell doom” for Nigeria’s petroleum sector.
They contended that Dangote Refinery had not yet achieved full refining capacity and that restricting imports would cause severe fuel shortages nationwide.
Before its reassignment, Justice Ekwo had dismissed NNPCL’s earlier jurisdictional objection, allowing Dangote to amend the defendant’s name. The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission had also sought to join the suit but was described by the court as a “meddlesome interloper.”
With Justice Umar’s ruling, the long-running legal tussle between Dangote Refinery and regulatory agencies over oil import licences has officially come to an end at least for now.
