The Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned until November 5, 2025, hearing in the suit filed by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE against the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and five oil marketing companies over an oil import licence dispute.

Naijaonpoint reports that the matter, earlier fixed for Wednesday, could not proceed due to the absence of Justice Mohammed Umar, who was said to be sitting at the Enugu Division of the court.

Justice Umar had on July 10 ordered parties in the suit to regularise their processes and directed that hearing notices be served on defendants who were absent. The case had originally been before Justice Inyang Ekwo before it was reassigned to Umar, requiring it to begin afresh.

Through its lawyer, Ogwu Onoja (SAN), Dangote Refinery is asking the court to nullify petroleum import licences issued by the NMDPRA to NNPCL and five marketers, AYM Shafa Limited, A.A. Rano Limited, T. Time Petroleum Limited, 2015 Petroleum Limited, and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited.

The refinery argued that the issuance of the licences violated Sections 317(8) and (9) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which, it said, only permits such approvals in cases of verified product shortfalls.

Dangote also sought ₦100bn in damages against the NMDPRA for allegedly continuing to grant import approvals in defiance of the PIA and undermining the local refining sector.

The NNPCL, in a preliminary objection filed through Afe Babalola & Co., urged the court to strike out the suit, describing it as incompetent and premature.

In an affidavit deposed to by a law clerk, Isiaka Popoola, the corporation claimed that the plaintiff sued a non-existent entity named “Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC).”

“A simple search on the CAC website shows that there is no entity called ‘Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC),’” Popoola stated, adding that the court lacked jurisdiction over the misnamed defendant.

NNPCL argued that the refinery had failed to disclose any cause of action against it and asked the court to dismiss the case.

In a counter affidavit, Idris Musa, a senior regulatory officer with the NMDPRA, said Dangote was not entitled to any of the reliefs sought.

Musa maintained that the refinery’s production output was still far below national demand. He added that, under Section 317(9) of the PIA, the NMDPRA was empowered to issue import licences to bridge shortfalls, while also ensuring competition and preventing unhealthy monopoly in the downstream sector.

He dismissed Dangote’s claims of a conspiracy as “baseless and unsupported by facts or evidence.”

The oil marketers joined in the suit, AYM Shafa, A.A. Rano, and Matrix Petroleum Services, opposed Dangote’s prayers, warning that granting them would “spell doom” for the industry.

In their joint counter affidavit filed on November 5, 2024, the marketers argued that the refinery had yet to meet Nigeria’s daily consumption needs, insisting there was no proof before the court to suggest otherwise.

They described Dangote’s position as an attempt to monopolise the petroleum sector, which they said would be detrimental to Nigerians.

Justice Ekwo had earlier, on March 18, dismissed a preliminary objection by the NNPCL, holding that the application was incompetent and premature.

He ruled that NNPCL ought to have filed a defence through a counter-affidavit before raising objections.

Ekwo also granted Dangote’s request to amend its originating process to correctly reflect the name of the NNPCL, while dismissing the motion for joinder filed by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), describing the agency as a “meddlesome interloper.”

With the matter now set for November 5, the Federal High Court will hear arguments from all parties on the legality of the import licences, the scope of the PIA, and Dangote’s claims for damages against the regulatory authority.

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