Abuja — The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE, has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja for permission to amend the suit it filed to nullify licenses the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, and six others secured to import refined petroleum products into the country.
The company, in the application it filed through its team of lawyers, led by Chief Ogwu Onoja, SAN, prayed the court to grant it leave to amend its originating summons to correct the name of the 2nd defendant in the matter.
The application followed a preliminary objection the NNPCL filed to strike out the legal action for want of competence.
NNPCL had, among other things, contended that Dangote Refinery sued a non-existing party, noting
that the court processes showed that ‘NNPC’, an entity that is currently non-existent, was listed as the 2nd defendant in the matter.
NNPCL urged the court to strike out its name from the suit, even as it challenged the locus standi (legal right) of the plaintiff to file the action it described as “premature.”
“This 2nd defendant in this suit as consistently seen on the face of the plaintiff’s originating summons, the affidavit in support and the written address, is 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,” it added.
More so, it argued that NNPCL which filed the objection and the NNPC, are not the same, describing the entity listed as the 2nd defendant as a non juristic person.
“The 2nd defendant is not a competent party. The plaintiff’s suit is incompetent. This honourable court lacks the jurisdiction to hear this suit,” the NNPCL argued.
Meanwhile, in its fresh application, Dangote Refinery prayed the court to allow it to correct the name of the 2nd defendant to read “Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited,” instead of “Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC)” earlier listed.
The plaintiff, in its affidavit that was deposed to by one Vincent Sani, said it noticed the error in the 2nd defendant’s name, after the suit was filed.
It said the planned amendment was for record of the court to contain the correct name of the 2nd defendant as a party in the suit.
Pleading the court to accede to its request in the interest of justice, the plaintiff argued that the defendants would not be prejudiced.
Other defendants in the suit are the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, AYM Shafa Limited, A. A. Rano Limited, T. Time Petroleum Limited, 2015 Petroleum Limited as well as Matrix Petroleum Services Limited.
Specifically, Dangote Refinery, in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1324/2024, is querying the propriety of the licence that was issued to the defendants to bring refined petroleum products into the country, when there is no shortfall in its own production.
It is equally praying the court to award N100billion in damages against the NMDPRA for allegedly continuing to issue import licenses to NNPCL and the other defendants for the import of petroleum products such as Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) and Jet Fuel (aviation turbine fuel) into Nigeria.
It told the court that the licences were issued to the defendants, “despite the production of AGO and Jet-A1 that exceeds the current daily consumption of petroleum products in Nigeria by the Dangote Refinery.”
Among other things, the plaintiff applied for an order of injunction, restraining the 1st defendant (NMDPRA) from further issuing and/or renewing import licenses to the 2nd to 7th defendants or other companies for the purpose of importing petroleum products.
It prayed for an order of court directing the 1st defendant to seal off all tank farms, storage facilities, warehouses, and stations used by the defendants for the storage of all refined petroleum products imported into Nigeria.
It will be recalled that the three major oil marketers that were also cited as defendants in the suit- AYM Shafa Limited, A. A. Rano Limited and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited- prayed the court to dismiss the suit.
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They urged the court to stop what they described as plot by Dangote Refinery to monopolize the energy sector of the Nigerian economy.
The marketers argued that allowing the plaintiff to takeover the oil sector would spell doom for the country.
The defendants told the court that they are well qualified and entitled to be issued licence by the 1st defendant to import petroleum products into the country within the provisions of Section 317(9) of the PIA.
They argued that vesting the plaintiff with the power of monopoly in Nigeria’s petroleum industry, as it is seeking through the legal action, would kill competitive pricing of petroleum products in the country, further deteriorate Nigeria’s critically ailing economy “and unleash untold hardship on Nigerians, all of which constitute a recipe for disaster in the polity.”
Justice Inyang Ekwo had earlier adjourned the matter till January 20, 2025, to enable the parties to explore an out-of-court settlement of the dispute, even as the plaintiff expressed its readiness to withdraw the suit.
