Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court Abuja, Monday, January 20, 2025 adjourned a suit filed by Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals Plants against Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) over the issuance of petrol import licence to some oil marketers.
Ripples Nigeria reports that Dangote had sued NMDPRA and NNPCL as 1st and 2nd defendants.
Also joined as 3rd to 7th defendants respectively in the originating summons, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1324/2024 and dated Sept. 6, are AYM Shafa Limited, A. A. Rano Limited, T. Time Petroleum Limited, 2015 Petroleum Limited, and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited.
The oil company had prayed the court to nullify import licences issued by NMDPRA to the NNPCL and the five other companies for the purpose of importing refined petroleum products.
Dangote also prayed the court to declare that NMDPRA was in violation of Sections 317(8) and (9) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) by issuing licenses for the importation of petroleum products.
When the case came up for hearing on Monday, it could not proceed due to the delay by Dangote Refinery to serve its amended originating summons on the defendants.
At the day’s proceeding, counsel to the plaintiff, George Ibrahim, informed the court that the matter was fixed for report of settlement or report of service.
Ibrahim, however, said they had been unable to take step to effect service of the processes and that issues of reconciliation had also not been looked into because of a motion filed to amend their originating summons due to the error discovered in the earlier application.
Counsel to NMDPRA, Mathew Bukar, SAN; lawyer to the 3rd, 4th, and 7th defendants (AYM Shafa, A.A. Rano Limited and Matrix Limited), Ahmed Raji, SAN, and that of 5th and 6th defendants (T. Time Petroleum and 2015 Petroleum Limited), Divine Oguru, told the court that they were yet to be served with the plaintiff’s application.
But Ademola Abimbola, who appeared for NNPCL (2nd defendant), said he was only served with the application at about 9 am in the morning before the court began sitting.
Abimbola said Dangote Refinery served them with the amended originating summons because they raised objection that the 2nd defendant should not have been a party in the suit since its registered name was not what it was sued with.
The lawyer, who said the plaintiff amended the suit because it was already in the media, said the application would be studied for appropriate response.
NMDPRA, in its counter affidavit deposed to by Idris Musa, a Senior Regulatory Officer in the office, prayed the court to dismiss the suit as it was misconceived, unmeritorious and incompetent.
Musa argued that Dangote Refinery is not entitled to any of the reliefs sought.
In its preliminary objection, NNPCL also prayed the court to strike out the case for being incompetent.
Also, the oil marketers, in a joint counter affidavit, told the court that granting Dangote’s application would spell doom for the country’s oil sector.
According to them, the plan to monopolise the oil sector is a recipe for disaster in the country.
The three marketers; AYM Shafa Limited, A. A. Rano Limited and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited, in their response, said the plaintiff did not produce adequate petroleum products for the daily consumption of Nigerians.
They also argued that there was nothing placed before the court to prove the contrary.
Consequently, Justice Ekwo adjourned the case to January 30, 2025.
By: Babajide Okeowo